US20060074557A1 - Unmanned vehicle - Google Patents
Unmanned vehicle Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20060074557A1 US20060074557A1 US11/011,001 US1100104A US2006074557A1 US 20060074557 A1 US20060074557 A1 US 20060074557A1 US 1100104 A US1100104 A US 1100104A US 2006074557 A1 US2006074557 A1 US 2006074557A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- vehicle
- convoy
- path
- surveillance
- uav
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
- 238000004891 communication Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 37
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 32
- 230000008859 change Effects 0.000 claims description 6
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 abstract description 8
- 239000000446 fuel Substances 0.000 description 27
- 238000004088 simulation Methods 0.000 description 17
- 238000004422 calculation algorithm Methods 0.000 description 16
- 239000013598 vector Substances 0.000 description 15
- 230000006835 compression Effects 0.000 description 11
- 238000007906 compression Methods 0.000 description 11
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 10
- RTZKZFJDLAIYFH-UHFFFAOYSA-N Diethyl ether Chemical compound CCOCC RTZKZFJDLAIYFH-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 8
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 8
- 230000008569 process Effects 0.000 description 7
- 238000012360 testing method Methods 0.000 description 6
- 238000006243 chemical reaction Methods 0.000 description 5
- 238000011161 development Methods 0.000 description 5
- 239000000314 lubricant Substances 0.000 description 5
- RZVHIXYEVGDQDX-UHFFFAOYSA-N 9,10-anthraquinone Chemical compound C1=CC=C2C(=O)C3=CC=CC=C3C(=O)C2=C1 RZVHIXYEVGDQDX-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 4
- ATUOYWHBWRKTHZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Propane Chemical compound CCC ATUOYWHBWRKTHZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 4
- 230000005540 biological transmission Effects 0.000 description 4
- 238000002485 combustion reaction Methods 0.000 description 4
- 238000010438 heat treatment Methods 0.000 description 4
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 description 3
- 239000000919 ceramic Substances 0.000 description 3
- 230000007423 decrease Effects 0.000 description 3
- 230000005484 gravity Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000002347 injection Methods 0.000 description 3
- 239000007924 injection Substances 0.000 description 3
- 239000000203 mixture Substances 0.000 description 3
- 230000001131 transforming effect Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000012800 visualization Methods 0.000 description 3
- LFQSCWFLJHTTHZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Ethanol Chemical compound CCO LFQSCWFLJHTTHZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 230000008901 benefit Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000004364 calculation method Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000002283 diesel fuel Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000003921 oil Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000004806 packaging method and process Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000001294 propane Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000000779 smoke Substances 0.000 description 2
- 230000009466 transformation Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000000844 transformation Methods 0.000 description 2
- 241000083700 Ambystoma tigrinum virus Species 0.000 description 1
- 230000005355 Hall effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 235000015842 Hesperis Nutrition 0.000 description 1
- 235000012633 Iberis amara Nutrition 0.000 description 1
- 230000001133 acceleration Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000003044 adaptive effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- XAGFODPZIPBFFR-UHFFFAOYSA-N aluminium Chemical compound [Al] XAGFODPZIPBFFR-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 229910052782 aluminium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000001273 butane Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000001419 dependent effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000013461 design Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000005670 electromagnetic radiation Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000000284 extract Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000002828 fuel tank Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000003502 gasoline Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000010354 integration Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000003993 interaction Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000001788 irregular Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000005259 measurement Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000010705 motor oil Substances 0.000 description 1
- IJDNQMDRQITEOD-UHFFFAOYSA-N n-butane Chemical compound CCCC IJDNQMDRQITEOD-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- OFBQJSOFQDEBGM-UHFFFAOYSA-N n-pentane Natural products CCCCC OFBQJSOFQDEBGM-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 230000003287 optical effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000002093 peripheral effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000002085 persistent effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000005855 radiation Effects 0.000 description 1
- 229920006395 saturated elastomer Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 239000007858 starting material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000005728 strengthening Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000013589 supplement Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000001360 synchronised effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000007704 transition Effects 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
- G05D—SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
- G05D1/00—Control of position, course or altitude of land, water, air, or space vehicles, e.g. automatic pilot
- G05D1/0094—Control of position, course or altitude of land, water, air, or space vehicles, e.g. automatic pilot involving pointing a payload, e.g. camera, weapon, sensor, towards a fixed or moving target
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64C—AEROPLANES; HELICOPTERS
- B64C39/00—Aircraft not otherwise provided for
- B64C39/02—Aircraft not otherwise provided for characterised by special use
- B64C39/024—Aircraft not otherwise provided for characterised by special use of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
- B64U80/00—Transport or storage specially adapted for UAVs
- B64U80/80—Transport or storage specially adapted for UAVs by vehicles
- B64U80/84—Waterborne vehicles
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
- B64U10/00—Type of UAV
- B64U10/25—Fixed-wing aircraft
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
- B64U2101/00—UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
- B64U2101/00—UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications
- B64U2101/15—UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for conventional or electronic warfare
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
- B64U2101/00—UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications
- B64U2101/15—UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for conventional or electronic warfare
- B64U2101/17—UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for conventional or electronic warfare for detecting, disrupting or countering communications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
- B64U2101/00—UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications
- B64U2101/15—UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for conventional or electronic warfare
- B64U2101/18—UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for conventional or electronic warfare for dropping bombs; for firing ammunition
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
- B64U2101/00—UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications
- B64U2101/30—UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for imaging, photography or videography
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
- B64U2101/00—UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications
- B64U2101/30—UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for imaging, photography or videography
- B64U2101/31—UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for imaging, photography or videography for surveillance
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
- B64U2201/00—UAVs characterised by their flight controls
- B64U2201/10—UAVs characterised by their flight controls autonomous, i.e. by navigating independently from ground or air stations, e.g. by using inertial navigation systems [INS]
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
- B64U2201/00—UAVs characterised by their flight controls
- B64U2201/20—Remote controls
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
- B64U30/00—Means for producing lift; Empennages; Arrangements thereof
- B64U30/10—Wings
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
- B64U50/00—Propulsion; Power supply
- B64U50/10—Propulsion
- B64U50/11—Propulsion using internal combustion piston engines
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
- B64U80/00—Transport or storage specially adapted for UAVs
- B64U80/80—Transport or storage specially adapted for UAVs by vehicles
- B64U80/86—Land vehicles
Definitions
- aspects of the present invention relate to unmanned vehicles.
- aspects of the invention provide unmanned vehicles that autonomously track vehicles and/or other unmanned vehicles.
- Surveillance may be provided by an aircraft or by a satellite that executes a single pass over a large region and is typically restricted in the time of surveillance coverage. Subsequent observations may be limited to the next pass by a satellite or aircraft.
- the area of interest e.g., corresponding to troop movement
- the area of interest may be a small subset of the region of surveillance and may consequently require arduous analysis of all of the collected data.
- the corresponding position of the protected assets is typically dynamic, in which movements are often irregular in direction and speed.
- effective surveillance requires to be equally dynamic and to be synchronized with the movements of the protected assets.
- An aspect of the present invention includes methods and apparatuses for providing surveillance of a convoy, which comprises at least one ground vehicle.
- An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operates as a satellite vehicle and obtains images around the convoy's position to provide information about potential hostile activity.
- the unmanned aerial vehicle maintains a generally curvilinear, at least in part, or looping path around the convoy as instructed by one of the convoy vehicles.
- Path planner algorithm software is executed by the controlling convoy vehicle, in which position and velocity information regarding the unmanned aerial vehicle and the convoy are processed to determine values of control variables. The determined values are sent to the unmanned aerial vehicle over a wireless communications channel.
- a controller determines a new roll angle and a new altitude from position information of a surveillance vehicle and a convoy in order to maintain the surveillance vehicle in a desired path.
- the controller sends roll angle commands and altitude commands to the surveillance vehicle in order to maintain the desired path.
- a surveillance vehicle which is following a path with respect to a convoy, and a convoy vehicle send position and velocity information to a control center (central controller), which has a fixed ground position.
- the central controller sends instructions to the surveillance vehicle so that the surveillance vehicle maintains its path with respect to the convoy.
- the path of the surveillance vehicle is changed in order to provide evasive measures to avoid an attack on the surveillance vehicle by an adversary.
- Different types of paths may be utilized.
- the surveillance vehicle may typically follow a circular path around the convoy but may revert to a zig-zag path if the controller determines that there may be a potential attack on the surveillance vehicle.
- a convoy may comprise at least one ground vehicle or at least one ship or other water vehicle.
- One or more aerial vehicles may serve as a surveillance vehicle for the at least one ground vehicle or the at least one water vehicle.
- another ship or a submarine may function as the surveillance vehicle for protecting the at least one water vehicle.
- FIG. 1 shows an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) controlled by a surface vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention
- FIG. 2 shows an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) controlled by a water vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention
- FIG. 3A shows an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) tracking a convoy in a circular path according to an embodiment of the invention
- FIG. 3B shows an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) tracking a convoy in a non-circular path according to an embodiment of the invention
- FIG. 4 shows an apparatus for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a moving ground station according to an embodiment of the invention
- FIG. 5 shows an apparatus for controlling two vehicles from a controlling entity according to an embodiment of the invention
- FIG. 6 shows an apparatus for a controller according to an embodiment of the invention
- FIG. 7 shows an apparatus of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention
- FIG. 8 shows a relationship between convoy position and aircraft position according to an embodiment of the invention
- FIG. 9 shows a front view of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 10 shows the relationship between relative velocity and the radial error velocity according to an embodiment of the invention
- FIG. 11 shows a flow diagram for path planner algorithm software according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 12 shows an exemplary architecture for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention
- FIG. 13 shows how an object in the sky can be represented in Earth-Centered, Earth-Fixed (ECEF) coordinates according to an embodiment of the invention
- FIG. 14 shows how an object can be represented in a Local Tangent Plane (LTP) from the ECEF coordinates according to an embodiment of the invention
- FIG. 15 shows transforming LTP coordinates to a local car's Cartesian (LOCA) coordinate system according to an embodiment of the invention
- FIGS. 16 A-D show an unmanned aerial vehicle's path relative to a car's path according to an embodiment of the invention
- FIG. 17 shows apparatus for simulating an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention
- FIG. 18 shows the determination of the change of latitude and longitude according to an embodiment of the invention
- FIG. 19 shows a simulation of the path determination algorithm according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 20 shows a heavy fuels engine that propels an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 21 shows technical performance indices for heavy fuels engines according to embodiments of the invention.
- FIG. 1 shows an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 10 flying in front of a vehicle 12 .
- Vehicle 12 may monitor the position of UAV 10 and communicate with the flight control system of UAV 10 to cause UAV 10 to constantly remain in front of vehicle 12 and provide overhead surveillance. The embodiment may also cause UAV 10 to maintain a path around vehicle 12 so that images may be obtained in front of, behind, and on the flanks of vehicle 12 .
- UAV 10 includes a global positioning system (GPS) receiver and transmits current coordinates to vehicle 12 .
- Vehicle 12 may also include a GPS receiver and may use information received from both GPS receivers to calculate the trajectory of UAV 10 . This information may then be used to calculate one or more way points to keep UAV 10 on a desired path.
- GPS global positioning system
- a convoy may comprise at least one vehicle, e.g., vehicle 12 .
- vehicle 12 may control UAV 10 .
- Vehicle 12 may transmit those way points to the flight control system of UAV 10 . This allows UAV 10 to autonomously follow vehicle 12 .
- UAV 10 remains at a constant velocity regardless of the velocity of vehicle 12 . If UAV 10 is traveling faster than vehicle 12 , then UAV 10 would fly in a pre-described pattern such that the total linear distance covered by UAV 10 is equal to the distance covered by vehicle 12 . If vehicle 12 stops, then UAV 10 would travel, at least in part, in an orbit pattern, such as a generally circular or elliptical pattern or other closed-loop pattern. In another implementation, the direction that vehicle 12 points based on its last calculated trajectory is used to steer UAV 10 to fly its orbit over a certain location. UAV 10 may also be programmed to change flight speeds to match the speed of vehicle 12 and/or to fly other types of routines such as a spiral formation or a zig-zag formation.
- UAV 10 may include a camera for recording images and may transmit those images to vehicle 12 .
- UAV 10 may include one or more of a variety of sensors and or sensor modules. Exemplary sensors include infrared cameras, radar devices, acoustic sensors, heat sensors and other conventional sensors used by military planes and aerial vehicles.
- UAV 10 is equipped with one or more smoke grenades or markers that may be released to identify potential ambush sites or other sites of interest.
- UAV 10 may be constructed of a modular design to facilitate changing modules such as motor modules, sensor modules and computer modules.
- UAV 10 may also include a variety of different munitions, such as air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles, bombs and rockets. Communications equipment, radar jammers, etc. may also be included.
- FIG. 2 shows that a UAV 20 may be used to provide overhead surveillance for a boat 22 .
- UAVs may be used to provide overhead surveillance to nonmilitary boats and vehicles. For example, a UAV may fly 10-20 miles in front of an oil tanker and provide situational awareness to the oil tanker's crew.
- UAVs to provide support for ATVs, motorcycles, full size supply convoys, Bradley fighting vehicles and other armored vehicles and tanks.
- the disclosed UAVs may used to support police department and fire department activities.
- the disclosed UAVs may also be used to support manned helicopters and airplanes.
- UAVs may use vision based navigation.
- a UAV may include a thermal camera and be programmed to track an infrared strobe attached to a vehicle or a thermal image.
- This embodiment allows a UAV to autonomously follow a moving target based on vision.
- following may include flying in a predetermined formation as described herein.
- other embodiments may use electromagnetic radiation at wavelengths other than those corresponding to infrared radiation, such as radio waves.
- Vision based navigation embodiments may be used to allow a UAV to land on a moving vehicle, such as a car or boat by setting the following distance to zero.
- vision based embodiments may be used to guide a UAV to a fuel source, such as a tanker aircraft.
- UAVs may also be programmed to recognize specific targets with automatic target recognition software and automatically follow those targets to either track or to provide persistent situational awareness for that moving target.
- An example of a moving target could be a company commander leading troops through enemy territory wherein without direct communication to and from the commander the vehicle would automatically follow him and his troop and provide situational awareness when appropriate.
- Targets may be recognized based on how they look to optical sensors, infrared sensors or any other sensors.
- two or more UAVs may form client and server nodes of a network.
- one or more UAVs may be configured to autonomously follow a primary UAV using a loop pattern in two or three dimensions around the primary UAV. That is, the tracking UAV may loop around the primary UAV, as well as loop over and under and/or in front and in back of the primary UAV.
- the two or more UAVs may be configured to both track a vehicle simultaneously but at spaced distances from one another. For example, with two UAVs, the UAVs may both travel on similar closed-loop paths about the tracked vehicle but may travel at different elevations and/or spaced apart from one another, such as about 180° apart on a generally curvilinear path.
- FIG. 3A shows one unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 303 tracking convoy 301 in an approximately circular path 321 about convoy 301 according to an embodiment of the invention.
- UAV 303 travels about convoy 301 in a loop pattern that is curvilinear at least in part and is completed over time as the convoy 301 travels, such that UAV 303 travels in essentially a complete 360° path around convoy 301 .
- the UAV may travel at one or more elevations relative to the convoy 301 . It will be understood that, depending on the tracking configuration, the speed at which convoy 301 travels and the path that convoy 301 proceeds along, the actual configuration of the loop pattern that UAV 303 travels will vary.
- UAV 303 obtains images of a 360° area in various elevations around convoy 301 .
- UAV 303 may be an aerial vehicle
- other embodiments of the invention support surveillance vehicles (manned or unmanned) that travel on the surface of the water, under the surface of the water, on the ground, or in outer space.
- embodiments of the invention support convoy 301 that travels on the surface of the water, under the surface of the water, on the ground, or in outer space.
- FIG. 3B shows UAV 353 tracking convoy 351 in a non-circular path 371 (e.g., an elliptical path) according to an embodiment of the invention.
- the embodiment also supports path 351 that may be a circular path having different path parameters, e.g., a desired radial distance from convoy 351 .
- a path planning algorithm may determine to change the path of UAV 353 from circular path 321 to path 371 if a velocity ratio (V UAV /V convoy ) exceeds a predetermined amount if evasive measures are necessary. If evasive measures are necessary, UAV 353 may follow different types of paths, including a zig-zag path within a determined region or some other path that may appear to be random to an adversary.
- FIG. 4 shows apparatus 400 for controlling unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 401 with moving ground station 403 according to an embodiment of the invention.
- Apparatus 400 comprises UAV 401 and moving ground station 403 , which may correspond to a car/truck (e.g., vehicle 12 as shown in FIG. 1 ).
- UAV provides measurements, e.g., location and velocity information over telemetry communications channel 411 .
- Moving ground station provides path commands (that may be determined by a path planner algorithm as shown in FIG. 11 ) to UAV 401 over wireless communications channel 413 .
- moving ground station 403 receives location and velocity information from UAV 401 and determines its own location and velocity information.
- moving ground station 403 determines its location and velocity using information received from a GPS receiver.
- path planner algorithm software 407 determines values for control variables 417 that instruct UAV 401 to travel on a desired path (e.g., a circular path around moving ground station 403 ).
- Telemetry interface 409 inserts command information into radio messages that are sent to UAV 401 over wireless communications channel 413 .
- UAV 401 processes received radio messages to extract values of control variables and passes the extracted values to autopilot hardware and software 405 to instruct the propulsion system to travel on the desired path.
- FIG. 5 shows apparatus 500 for controlling two vehicles 501 and 503 from controlling entity (central controller or control center) 505 according to an embodiment of the invention.
- vehicle 501 corresponds to a surveillance vehicle (e.g., UAV 10 as shown in FIG. 1 )
- vehicle 503 corresponds to a convoy vehicle (e.g. vehicle 12 )
- control center 505 has a fixed position.
- Control center 505 communicates with vehicle 501 and vehicle 503 over communications channels 511 and 513 , respectively.
- Control center 505 receives position and velocity information from both vehicles 501 and 503 through communication interface 509 , which passes the information 515 to path planner algorithm software 507 that implements the flow diagram as shown in FIG. 11 .
- Path planner algorithm software 507 determines values of control variables 517 , which are sent to vehicle 501 and/or vehicle 503 so that vehicle 501 maintains a desired path with respect to vehicle 503 .
- FIG. 6 shows apparatus for a controller 600 (e.g., moving ground station 403 or control center 505 ) according to an embodiment of the invention.
- Controller 600 comprises processor 601 , communications interface 603 , and GPS receiver 605 .
- Embodiments of the invention may utilize an inertial navigational system (e.g., a gyroscopic navigational system) to determine position and velocity information.
- Processor 601 receives position and velocity information from a surveillance vehicle (not shown) through communications interface 603 over wireless communications channel 609 .
- the embodiment supports a variety of wireless communications channels including light, microwave, infrared, and sonar communication channels.
- controller 600 obtains position and velocity information from a convoy vehicle for a configuration corresponding to apparatus 500 or obtains its own position and velocity information for a configuration corresponding to apparatus 400 .
- controller 600 typically obtains GPS information from GPS receiver 605 over radio channel 607 .
- Processor 601 implements a path planner algorithm to determine values for control variables. The values for the control variables are sent to the controlled vehicles through communications interface 603 over wireless communications channel 609 .
- FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of an apparatus of unmanned aerial vehicle 700 according to an embodiment of the invention.
- UAV 700 includes propulsion system 707 and guidance system 705 which powers and guides UAV 700 in its desired path, respectively.
- UAV 700 receives instructions through data communications interface 713 over wireless communication channel 717 from a controller (e.g., controller 600 ) that contains values for control variables.
- Processor 701 extracts and processes the instructed values from the received instructions. Processed values are presented to guidance system 705 so that UAV 700 follows the desired path.
- UAV 700 determines position and velocity information about itself from GPS information received by GPS receiver 711 over radio channel 715 and from data acquired by data acquisition module 703 .
- the embodiment also supports methods that determine position and velocity of UAV 700 , e.g. triangulation techniques, that are known in the art.
- UAV 700 sends the position and velocity information to the controller through data transmission interface 713 .
- UAV 700 collects surveillance images through camera 709 and transmits the images to a convoy vehicle through data transmission interface 713 over wireless communication channel 717 .
- UAV 700 may include auxiliary munitions module 721 that is equipped with one or more smoke grenades that may be released to identify potential ambush sites, with air-to-air missiles, and the like.
- UAV 700 may include auxiliary communication module 719 to provide jamming of an adversary's communications channel or to provide an auxiliary wireless channel to supplement data transmission interface 713 .
- Embodiments of the invention may implement the path planner algorithm at the controller.
- the controller may be located at different locations for different configurations.
- the controller may correspond to vehicle 12 (as shown in FIG. 1 ), ship 22 (as shown in FIG. 2 ), moving ground station 403 (as shown in FIG. 4 ), or control center 505 (as shown in FIG. 5 ).
- Another embodiment of the invention may implement the path planner algorithm software in the UAV rather than in the controller.
- the UAV receives position and velocity information about the convoy and path parameters about the desired path.
- the UAV internally determines values for the control variables rather than receiving the values from the controller.
- the UAVs disclosed herein use the CloudCap autonomous flight control platform.
- a Software Developer Kit (SDK) enables third-party applications to interface with the Piccolo software for purposes of flight control, data acquisition, and payload data transmission.
- SDK Software Developer Kit
- the system interfaces a UAV control system to the platform via this SDK, providing integration of the high-level adaptive behavior control system with a low-level autonomous control system and communication link.
- a path planning algorithm allows a UAV (e.g., an airplane) to remain at a relatively fixed distance in front of the convoy vehicle (e.g., a car or a boat) or around the convoy vehicle when the velocity of the UAV, v UAV , is faster than the velocity of the boat, v CONVOY .
- the following description relates to an algorithm for identifying a path of an unmanned aerial vehicle in relation to a ground vehicle.
- Unmanned aerial vehicle travels a curvilinear path 360° around a convoy, which comprises at least one ground vehicle or at least one water vehicle.
- a camera that is mounted on the UAV points at the convoy.
- a nominal distance between the UAV and the convoy is user controllable. Also, the algorithm is cognizant of aircraft operational considerations that must not be exceeded.
- the UAV is constrained to an airspeed between 30 knots and 55 knots, a vertical speed of less than 500 ft/min, a roll angle of less than 28 degrees, a mounted camera pointing at “9 o'clock” and 25 degrees below horizon (left wing), and a camera field of view of 46 degrees horizontal with a 4:3 (NTSC) frame shape.
- NTSC 4:3
- FIG. 8 shows a relationship between convoy position and aircraft position according to an embodiment of the invention.
- Vector 805 represents the aircraft position P (or velocity V)
- vector 801 represents the convoy position P c (or convoy velocity V c )
- vector 803 represents the relative position P r (or relative velocity V r ).
- vectors 801 , 803 , and 805 are represented in East, West coordinates at a relative true altitude.
- FIG. 9 shows a front view of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 901 according to an embodiment of the invention.
- Camera 903 is mounted on left wing 905 at cam angle (camera angle) 909 .
- cam angle cam angle
- the nominal camera angle is approximately 25 degrees.
- the roll angle is represented as roll angle ( ⁇ ) 907 .
- FIG. 10 shows the relationship between relative velocity and the radial error velocity according to an embodiment of the invention.
- Vector 1001 represents the old relative velocity (V r ) and vector 1003 represents the new relative velocity 1003 , which is related with vector 1001 by vector 1005 .
- Vector (V rad — err ) 1005 represents the error in the radial velocity.
- Angle ⁇ 1007 is the angle between vector 1001 and vector 1003 and corresponds to the heading change. The objective is to reduce V rad — err 1005 with heading changes.
- FIG. 11 shows flow diagram 1100 for path planner algorithm software according to an embodiment of the invention.
- flow diagram 1100 the following nomenclature is used: ⁇ ⁇ roll angle command ⁇ ⁇ * first roll angle command update ⁇ ⁇ ** second roll angle command update V a aircraft true airspeed g gravity constant P r relative position (aircraft to convoy) P d desired radial range A altitude command cam camera angle Gain control constant V rad — err error in radial velocity max_angle maximum bank angle ⁇ heading angle command
- the roll angle ( ⁇ ⁇ ) command may be bounded (saturated) so that a maximum roll angle (which is dependent upon the constraints of the aircraft) is not exceeded before proceeding to step 1105 .
- step 1111 values of control variables (altitude and roll angle commands) are provided to the guidance system (e.g., guidance system 705 as shown in FIG. 7 ) so that the surveillance vehicle follows a desired curvilinear (at least in part), closed-loop path with respect to the convoy vehicle. If the surveillance vehicle is not initially traveling on the desired path, the vehicle's path will converge to the desired path as illustrated in FIG. 19 .
- the guidance system e.g., guidance system 705 as shown in FIG. 7
- An embodiment of the invention includes the path controller algorithm as well as the software tool that has been developed for an easy development of this kind of controllers for the Piccolo systems.
- An embodiment provides an aircraft simulation environment, which incorporates a portion of the flying hardware. To complete the simulation environment, a ground vehicle model, the car model, is developed.
- the controller development platform is a software kit that assists with the development and testing of UAV mission feasibilities.
- the path controller software developed by this kit ultimately resides on a computer that is connected to the ground station. Since the airplane can be simulated by the simulator, only a ground vehicle simulator needs to be constructed in the CDP.
- the CDP may provide all the necessary information for path generation, from the aircraft data to the ground station data. This information may take on the form of packets of structures.
- the CDP has already written the “de-multiplexer” portion of the software that deciphers and stores the serial data from the ground station. These data is extracted and fed into the path-planning algorithm that computes and returns future navigation points. The future navigation points are then packed into a package and then sent to the ground station.
- the packaging and the serial communication functions may be provided by the CDP.
- FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a simulation architecture.
- the bottom layer, Cloud Cap Communication SDK 1217 is a library that provides communication primitives between the controller and the ground station through serial port.
- the library comes with a packet dispatcher. Inside this module a routine is nested that forwards the packet received from the ground station to the correct modules.
- the packets are passed to two modules: real car status module 1211 and airplane status module 1213 .
- Modules 1211 and 1213 keep track of the status of these vehicles by extracting the data from the packet forwarded to them by packet dispatcher 1215 .
- Car model module 1209 maintains the status of a simulated car. The information is the same as those that are kept by real car status module 1211 .
- MUX module 1207 simple decide which set of data to fetch to the open loop controller 1203 .
- the data is taken from car model module 1209 ; in the real ground test the data is taken from real car module 1211 .
- EECF/LLA conversion module 1205 supports the conversion between the data format used by the ACR system (GPS Longitude Latitude Altitude format) into a format more suitable for the development of the controller (Earth Centered Earth Fix).
- GUI module 1201 displays a subset of the information fetched to controller 1203 .
- the user can monitor the performances of controller 1203 observing the displayed trajectory of the airplane and the car and reading the list of the waypoint that are sent.
- the user commands MUX 1207 and sets the Car Model parameters through GUI 1201 .
- Path controller module 1203 is implemented by the developer. The necessary data is extracted from the packets from MUX module 1207 , which has been converted into the appropriate format by ECEF/LLA Conversion module 1205 . The data provided for this module includes: airplane position, altitude, and airspeed (true air speed as well as from the GPS receiver). After computing future waypoints, path controller module 1203 returns a list of waypoints that are in the LLA format used by the Piccolo. The future waypoints come in packages of three, which is chosen guard against communication packet loss. The packaging of waypoints is done by routines provided by the Cloud Cap Communication SDK library, which also sends the routes to the ground station. The ground station ultimately forwards these packets to the airplane.
- FIG. 13 shows how an object, R, in the sky can be represented in ECEF coordinates, x, y, and z.
- the axes X, Y, and Z are fixed with respect to the earth where their origins are the earth's center of gravity and Z-axis is coming out through the North Pole.
- LTP Local Tangent Plane
- [ North East Down ] [ - sin ⁇ ( phi ) ⁇ cos ⁇ ( lam ) - sin ⁇ ( phi ) ⁇ sin ⁇ ( lam ) cos ⁇ ( phi ) - sin ⁇ ( lam ) cos ⁇ ( lam ) 0 - cos ⁇ ( phi ) ⁇ cos ⁇ ( lam ) - cos ⁇ ( phi ) ⁇ sin ⁇ ( lam ) - sin ⁇ ( phi ) ] ⁇ [ X Y Z ]
- LTP coordinates are transformed to local car's Cartesian (LOCA) coordinate system as show in FIG. 15 .
- LOCA Cartesian
- FIG. 15 Note: Down-axis and the z-axis are pointing into the paper and not shown in FIG. 15 .
- Generating plane path in this coordinate system allows simple manipulation in the code. For example, by placing an imaginary point in x-direction (car's heading) by 5 meters, the point will always be in front of the car by 5 meters in ECEF and LTP coordinate system.
- a function transf(x,y,z,ret,flag) transforms these different types of coordinate system to another with a specified flag.
- the current status of the ground speed and the position of the plane, car, and the wind are received from the main code in a structure format named path_generator_input.
- the function circle_path( ) is called to allow the plane to fly in circles above the car, and otherwise, a non-circular path is generated by desired_path( ). This eliminates the need for the plane to fly in extraneously large amplitudes of sinusoidal path when the car is moving slowly.
- the plane's future paths are generated with the consideration of communication speed and car's current position.
- the current implementation does not consider the real plane's position and assumes that the plane is following the path correctly.
- the plane's desired path 1653 initially starts in front of the car 1651 by a predefined value, AHEAD_CAR. This can be done by adding the offset, AHEAD_CAR, to the car's position in x-direction in LOCA coordinate system.
- Vectors delta_x_p 1601 B, 1601 C and delta_y_p 1603 B, 1603 C are calculated every second, then they are transformed to ECEF coordinates which then they will be added to the previous position of the plane as shown in FIGS. 16B and 16C . Because all the calculations are done in LOCA coordinates before transforming it to ECEF coordinates, this allows the path to turn its direction as the car turns. And the delta in z-direction is set to zero to maintain the height of the plane from its initial condition. Then these X, Y, and Z points will be sent to the main function in a structure format named path_generator_output, which then it will be sent to the Piccolo box.
- a simulation setup may be used to test the feasibility of the path-planning algorithm.
- a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation environment may be used.
- the ground station, the ground station computer, and the airborne avionics are all incorporated into the process.
- the Piccolo box sends its commands into a controller area network (CAN) bus instead of the servos that would maneuver the UAV.
- CAN controller area network
- the CAN bus translates the avionics' control information into serial communication and feeds the signals into the USB port of a computer that is running aircraft simulation software.
- the simulation software runs a model of an aircraft by taking in the control inputs from the CAN bus.
- the model describes the aircraft by a set of parameters that is gathered empirically.
- the simulation program calculates the responses of the aircraft, such as GPS position, airspeed, and acceleration, and returns them back to the Piccolo box. This data is then returned via the wireless link back to the ground station, which is available for use or for recording purposes.
- This simulation process most directly tests the feasibility of the entire system by incorporating factors such as the wireless and serial communications as well as the path-planning algorithm all at once.
- the simulator has visualization capability that provides a more intuitive feel of the behavior of the aircraft.
- the simulation sends out UDP packets, which contains the position and the Euler angles of the aircraft, to a designated visualization computer. These packets are then process by software such as FlightGear or Microsoft Flight Simulator for viewing. Due to the high demand of processor power for visualization, a computer independent from the simulator computer is used. A diagram of the simulation setup is shown in FIG. 17 .
- Trajectories are identified in real-time so that, when followed by a UAV, the UAV will stay in the vicinity of a designated ground vehicle.
- a ground station is mounted onto the designated ground vehicle.
- a car model is devised to feed into the path-planner program pseudo information of the ground vehicle.
- the car model is built by keeping track of the position as well as the velocity vector of the simulated car.
- the model resides in a software loop that is run once per second.
- the car model's velocity vector has a size as well as a directional component, and they are modified by the clicks of buttons on the path-planner's graphic user interface (GUI).
- GUI graphic user interface
- Car_Heading(new) Car_Heading(current) ⁇ delta_Car_Heading (Equation 11)
- Car_Speed(new) Car_Speed(current) ⁇ delta_Car_Speed (Equation 12)
- the Car_Heading variable has the units of radians and the Car_Speed variable has the units of meters per second.
- delta_Car_Heading was set to be seven point five degrees; and so every time the user clicks on the “right-turn” or “left-turn” button on the GUI, the Car_Heading variable increases or decreases by 7.5 degrees respectively.
- the speed information each click of the “accelerate” or “decelerate” button would increase or decrease the Car_Speed variable by an amount of delta_Car_Speed.
- the delta_Car_Speed variable is chosen to be two miles per hour, which translates to roughly 0.477 meters per second. Since the heading and speed information is changed every time a button click has occurred, one can think of the changes as having units of “7.5 degrees per click” and “0.477 [m/s] per click” for the heading and the speed respectively.
- FIG. 18 illustrates these points.
- the initial position of the car model takes on the latitude and longitude values of the simulated aircraft at the moment that the simulator is started.
- the r Lat and r Lon in FIG. 18 may be found using known parameters of the earth and trigonometry.
- the earth datum is defined per the World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84).
- GSS84 World Geodetic System 1984
- the angular velocity of the north and east components may be found.
- the angular contribution, the ⁇ and the ⁇ of FIG. 18 may be found, which is used in Equations 9 and 10 to update the change in the simulated car's position.
- a pre-compiler flag arrangement is used. Depending on how this flag is set, the compiled executable sends either the actual or the simulated car data to the path generation algorithm.
- FIG. 19 shows a simulation of the path planner algorithm software as shown in the flow diagram in FIG. 11 . While the simulated UAV does not initially have a circular path, the simulated UAV does converge to a circular path having a desired radial distance.
- the simulation shown in FIG. 19 demonstrates the robustness of the path determination algorithm to the effects of wind. In FIG. 19 , the simulated wind is from the direction of 90 degrees at 6.00 m/sec, and the airspeed of the simulated UAV is 23.15 m/sec.
- FIG. 20 shows a heavy fuels engine that propels an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention.
- the ignition timing ring that contains a magnet that triggers the ignition to fire at the proper time in the operational cycle.
- the twisted wire on the right side of the front of the engine (as viewed from the back of the engine) is the wire going from the Hall Effect sensor that triggers the ignition system.
- the ignition system itself is outside the frame of FIG. 20 .
- the ignition system high-voltage lead can be seen in the upper right of FIG. 20 . (It is the thick wire going to the top of the engine and terminates in a spark plug cap (partially seen).)
- the electric pre-heater and aluminum intake manifold are immediately behind the high-voltage lead.
- the electric pre-heater is an off-the-shelf Bosch glow plug designed for use in automotive diesel engines.
- the exhaust system and muffler exit from the right side of the cylinder head (as viewed from the back of the engine).
- the small tube is a pressure line to the fuel tank that pressurizes the fuel system.
- the carburetor itself is partially visible just above the tape in the rear of the engine.
- the long, thin protrusion from the carburetor is part of the air-fuel high-speed mixture adjustment needle.
- the heavy fuels engine may incorporate an electric preheater and spark ignition.
- the preheater may be in a different location (e.g., the air intake vs. the cylinder itself).
- the fuel for the engine maybe a mixture of JP-5 or JP-8 and lubricant in an 8:1 ratio (11% lubricant).
- the specific gravity is about 0.805.
- Lubricants include Yamalube 2-R and Hyundai GN-2 two-cycle engine lubricants. Too low a percentage of lubricant, or type, may negatively impact durability by increasing piston/cylinder and/or bearing wear. Conversely, too high a level may decrease maximum power, as well as potentially increasing combustion chamber deposits.
- the engine may be considered a multifuel engine, running equally well on glow fuel, model diesel fuel, heavy fuels, and presumably also gasoline and automotive diesel fuels.
- the engine has the ability with its adjustable compression ratio to allow it to run on any of the fuels by modifying the compression ratio through the compression adjustment screw.
- compression ratios can be increased and/or the fuel heated.
- suitable starting was provided by a combustion chamber volume of 0.20 cc and glow plug ignition.
- a modified head that incorporates an automotive diesel engine glow plug (Bosch P/N 80010) for combustion chamber pre-heating and a spark plug for ignition was provided.
- an automotive diesel engine glow plug Bosch P/N 80010
- Use of a diesel glow plug in the combustion chamber provides a large source of heat in the presence of the compressed fuel-air mixture to directly vaporize the fuel, allowing it to be more easily ignited by the spark.
- the glow plug may heat the entire head to a temperature sufficient to vaporize the fuel and more easily ignite the fuel by the spark.
- the engine is a small, spark-ignition heavy fuels engine.
- the operational characteristics with heavy fuels are currently better than compression ignition engines. Throttle transitions are smoother and the exhaust is visibly much cleaner.
- the lower compression of spark-ignition systems also makes them a more attractive candidate for on-board starter/generators since engine weights are lighter than comparable compression ignition engines.
- Heavy fuels conversions of existing engines are easily accomplished with spark ignition. With compression ignition conversions, new heads with higher compression ratios must be designed and fabricated, along with strengthening the crankcases. A range of existing spark ignition engines requiring minimal modifications can be converted to heavy fuels. Additionally, with spark ignition compression ratios can be maintained at or near base engine levels, resulting in much lower mechanical loads on the engine, yielding greater engine reliability and life.
- the engine includes ceramic engine components.
- High-wear components may benefit from the hardness and durability of ceramics with heavy fuels that have no added lubricants.
- Auxiliary starting aids such as electric preheating or ether
- carbureted or port fuel injected heavy fuels engines but may not be needed with direct cylinder fuel injection.
- the higher injection pressures of direct injection atomize the fuel so finely that additional starting aids may not be required.
- electric pre-heating of the engine is effective, it may require several minutes or more to heat the engine to a point of starting. It also may increase the engine weight as well as requiring a battery of a size that makes it impractical as part of an airborne restart system.
- Starting aids such as propane, butane, ether, or alcohol are small and lightweight. There is no pre-heating required and they are able to start engines within 1 to 10 seconds depending on engine type and ambient conditions. Additionally, due to their light weight they can be incorporated into on-board starting systems for in-flight restarts.
- FIG. 21 shows technical performance indices for heavy fuels engines according to embodiments of the invention.
- ground vehicles and water-based vehicles may utilize several of the concepts disclosed above.
- underwater vehicles e.g., submarines
- the computer system may include at least one computer such as a microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor, and associated peripheral electronic circuitry.
Abstract
Description
- This application claims priority to provisional U.S. Application No. 60/529,388 (“Unmanned Vehicle”), filed Dec. 12, 2003.
- Aspects of the present invention relate to unmanned vehicles. In particular, aspects of the invention provide unmanned vehicles that autonomously track vehicles and/or other unmanned vehicles.
- In order to protect both material and human assets, it is important to be cognizant of potential hostile activity that may endanger the assets. There are numerous scenarios that may encounter hostile activity, including troop movement and ship maneuvers. Effective surveillance provides information (e.g., images) of potential hostile activity near the protected assets.
- Surveillance may be provided by an aircraft or by a satellite that executes a single pass over a large region and is typically restricted in the time of surveillance coverage. Subsequent observations may be limited to the next pass by a satellite or aircraft. The area of interest (e.g., corresponding to troop movement) may be a small subset of the region of surveillance and may consequently require arduous analysis of all of the collected data. Moreover, the corresponding position of the protected assets is typically dynamic, in which movements are often irregular in direction and speed. Thus, effective surveillance requires to be equally dynamic and to be synchronized with the movements of the protected assets.
- Thus, there is an important need to protect assets by providing surveillance that tracks the protected assets over the entire time of interest. Moreover, a method and apparatus providing the surveillance should minimize danger to any personnel supporting the surveillance activity.
- An aspect of the present invention includes methods and apparatuses for providing surveillance of a convoy, which comprises at least one ground vehicle. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operates as a satellite vehicle and obtains images around the convoy's position to provide information about potential hostile activity. The unmanned aerial vehicle maintains a generally curvilinear, at least in part, or looping path around the convoy as instructed by one of the convoy vehicles. Path planner algorithm software is executed by the controlling convoy vehicle, in which position and velocity information regarding the unmanned aerial vehicle and the convoy are processed to determine values of control variables. The determined values are sent to the unmanned aerial vehicle over a wireless communications channel.
- With another aspect of the invention, a controller determines a new roll angle and a new altitude from position information of a surveillance vehicle and a convoy in order to maintain the surveillance vehicle in a desired path. The controller sends roll angle commands and altitude commands to the surveillance vehicle in order to maintain the desired path.
- With another aspect of the invention, a surveillance vehicle, which is following a path with respect to a convoy, and a convoy vehicle send position and velocity information to a control center (central controller), which has a fixed ground position. The central controller sends instructions to the surveillance vehicle so that the surveillance vehicle maintains its path with respect to the convoy.
- With another aspect of the invention, the path of the surveillance vehicle is changed in order to provide evasive measures to avoid an attack on the surveillance vehicle by an adversary. Different types of paths may be utilized. For example, the surveillance vehicle may typically follow a circular path around the convoy but may revert to a zig-zag path if the controller determines that there may be a potential attack on the surveillance vehicle.
- With another aspect of the invention, a convoy may comprise at least one ground vehicle or at least one ship or other water vehicle. One or more aerial vehicles may serve as a surveillance vehicle for the at least one ground vehicle or the at least one water vehicle. Also, another ship or a submarine may function as the surveillance vehicle for protecting the at least one water vehicle.
- A more complete understanding of the present invention and the advantages thereof may be acquired by referring to the following description in consideration of the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numbers indicate like features and wherein:
-
FIG. 1 shows an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) controlled by a surface vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 2 shows an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) controlled by a water vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 3A shows an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) tracking a convoy in a circular path according to an embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 3B shows an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) tracking a convoy in a non-circular path according to an embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 4 shows an apparatus for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a moving ground station according to an embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 5 shows an apparatus for controlling two vehicles from a controlling entity according to an embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 6 shows an apparatus for a controller according to an embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 7 shows an apparatus of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 8 shows a relationship between convoy position and aircraft position according to an embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 9 shows a front view of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 10 shows the relationship between relative velocity and the radial error velocity according to an embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 11 shows a flow diagram for path planner algorithm software according to an embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 12 shows an exemplary architecture for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 13 shows how an object in the sky can be represented in Earth-Centered, Earth-Fixed (ECEF) coordinates according to an embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 14 shows how an object can be represented in a Local Tangent Plane (LTP) from the ECEF coordinates according to an embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 15 shows transforming LTP coordinates to a local car's Cartesian (LOCA) coordinate system according to an embodiment of the invention; - FIGS. 16A-D show an unmanned aerial vehicle's path relative to a car's path according to an embodiment of the invention;
-
FIG. 17 shows apparatus for simulating an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 18 shows the determination of the change of latitude and longitude according to an embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 19 shows a simulation of the path determination algorithm according to an embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 20 shows a heavy fuels engine that propels an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention; and -
FIG. 21 shows technical performance indices for heavy fuels engines according to embodiments of the invention. - System Overview
-
FIG. 1 shows an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 10 flying in front of avehicle 12.Vehicle 12 may monitor the position ofUAV 10 and communicate with the flight control system ofUAV 10 to causeUAV 10 to constantly remain in front ofvehicle 12 and provide overhead surveillance. The embodiment may also causeUAV 10 to maintain a path aroundvehicle 12 so that images may be obtained in front of, behind, and on the flanks ofvehicle 12. In one embodiment,UAV 10 includes a global positioning system (GPS) receiver and transmits current coordinates tovehicle 12.Vehicle 12 may also include a GPS receiver and may use information received from both GPS receivers to calculate the trajectory ofUAV 10. This information may then be used to calculate one or more way points to keepUAV 10 on a desired path. As described herein, a convoy may comprise at least one vehicle, e.g.,vehicle 12. One or more of the vehicles in the convoy may controlUAV 10.Vehicle 12 may transmit those way points to the flight control system ofUAV 10. This allowsUAV 10 to autonomously followvehicle 12. - In one implementation,
UAV 10 remains at a constant velocity regardless of the velocity ofvehicle 12. IfUAV 10 is traveling faster thanvehicle 12, thenUAV 10 would fly in a pre-described pattern such that the total linear distance covered byUAV 10 is equal to the distance covered byvehicle 12. Ifvehicle 12 stops, thenUAV 10 would travel, at least in part, in an orbit pattern, such as a generally circular or elliptical pattern or other closed-loop pattern. In another implementation, the direction thatvehicle 12 points based on its last calculated trajectory is used to steerUAV 10 to fly its orbit over a certain location.UAV 10 may also be programmed to change flight speeds to match the speed ofvehicle 12 and/or to fly other types of routines such as a spiral formation or a zig-zag formation. -
UAV 10 may include a camera for recording images and may transmit those images tovehicle 12. One skilled in the art will appreciate thatUAV 10 may include one or more of a variety of sensors and or sensor modules. Exemplary sensors include infrared cameras, radar devices, acoustic sensors, heat sensors and other conventional sensors used by military planes and aerial vehicles. In one particular implementation,UAV 10 is equipped with one or more smoke grenades or markers that may be released to identify potential ambush sites or other sites of interest. -
UAV 10 may be constructed of a modular design to facilitate changing modules such as motor modules, sensor modules and computer modules. -
UAV 10 may also include a variety of different munitions, such as air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles, bombs and rockets. Communications equipment, radar jammers, etc. may also be included. -
FIG. 2 shows that aUAV 20 may be used to provide overhead surveillance for aboat 22. UAVs may be used to provide overhead surveillance to nonmilitary boats and vehicles. For example, a UAV may fly 10-20 miles in front of an oil tanker and provide situational awareness to the oil tanker's crew. - Other embodiments include using UAVs to provide support for ATVs, motorcycles, full size supply convoys, Bradley fighting vehicles and other armored vehicles and tanks. The disclosed UAVs may used to support police department and fire department activities. The disclosed UAVs may also be used to support manned helicopters and airplanes.
- In one alternative embodiment of the invention, UAVs may use vision based navigation. For example, a UAV may include a thermal camera and be programmed to track an infrared strobe attached to a vehicle or a thermal image. This embodiment allows a UAV to autonomously follow a moving target based on vision. Of course, following may include flying in a predetermined formation as described herein. Moreover, other embodiments may use electromagnetic radiation at wavelengths other than those corresponding to infrared radiation, such as radio waves. Vision based navigation embodiments may be used to allow a UAV to land on a moving vehicle, such as a car or boat by setting the following distance to zero. Similarly, vision based embodiments may be used to guide a UAV to a fuel source, such as a tanker aircraft.
- UAVs may also be programmed to recognize specific targets with automatic target recognition software and automatically follow those targets to either track or to provide persistent situational awareness for that moving target. An example of a moving target could be a company commander leading troops through enemy territory wherein without direct communication to and from the commander the vehicle would automatically follow him and his troop and provide situational awareness when appropriate. Targets may be recognized based on how they look to optical sensors, infrared sensors or any other sensors.
- In other embodiments of the invention, two or more UAVs (which may form a convoy) may form client and server nodes of a network. In these embodiments, one or more UAVs may be configured to autonomously follow a primary UAV using a loop pattern in two or three dimensions around the primary UAV. That is, the tracking UAV may loop around the primary UAV, as well as loop over and under and/or in front and in back of the primary UAV. Alternatively, the two or more UAVs may be configured to both track a vehicle simultaneously but at spaced distances from one another. For example, with two UAVs, the UAVs may both travel on similar closed-loop paths about the tracked vehicle but may travel at different elevations and/or spaced apart from one another, such as about 180° apart on a generally curvilinear path.
-
FIG. 3A shows one unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 303tracking convoy 301 in an approximatelycircular path 321 aboutconvoy 301 according to an embodiment of the invention. Generally,UAV 303 travels aboutconvoy 301 in a loop pattern that is curvilinear at least in part and is completed over time as theconvoy 301 travels, such thatUAV 303 travels in essentially a complete 360° path aroundconvoy 301. The UAV may travel at one or more elevations relative to theconvoy 301. It will be understood that, depending on the tracking configuration, the speed at whichconvoy 301 travels and the path thatconvoy 301 proceeds along, the actual configuration of the loop pattern thatUAV 303 travels will vary. For example, ifconvoy 301 travels along a straight path at a constant speed, with a circular tracking configuration, the path ofUAV 303 will generally resemble a spiral pattern as theUAV 303 travels back and around the forwardly-movingconvoy 301. Over time,UAV 303 will travel essentially 360° at one or more elevations aboutconvoy 301 and return to its original relative starting position with respect toconvoy 301 so that it will have completed a curvilinear or closed-loop pattern aboutconvoy 301. Other embodiments of the invention may utilize other curvilinear closed-loop paths. Consequently,UAV 303 obtains images of a 360° area in various elevations aroundconvoy 301. - While
UAV 303 may be an aerial vehicle, other embodiments of the invention support surveillance vehicles (manned or unmanned) that travel on the surface of the water, under the surface of the water, on the ground, or in outer space. Also, embodiments of theinvention support convoy 301 that travels on the surface of the water, under the surface of the water, on the ground, or in outer space. -
FIG. 3B showsUAV 353tracking convoy 351 in a non-circular path 371 (e.g., an elliptical path) according to an embodiment of the invention. The embodiment also supportspath 351 that may be a circular path having different path parameters, e.g., a desired radial distance fromconvoy 351. - A path planning algorithm may determine to change the path of
UAV 353 fromcircular path 321 topath 371 if a velocity ratio (VUAV/Vconvoy) exceeds a predetermined amount if evasive measures are necessary. If evasive measures are necessary,UAV 353 may follow different types of paths, including a zig-zag path within a determined region or some other path that may appear to be random to an adversary. -
FIG. 4 shows apparatus 400 for controlling unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 401 with movingground station 403 according to an embodiment of the invention.Apparatus 400 comprisesUAV 401 and movingground station 403, which may correspond to a car/truck (e.g.,vehicle 12 as shown inFIG. 1 ). UAV provides measurements, e.g., location and velocity information overtelemetry communications channel 411. Moving ground station provides path commands (that may be determined by a path planner algorithm as shown inFIG. 11 ) toUAV 401 overwireless communications channel 413. In the embodiment, movingground station 403 receives location and velocity information fromUAV 401 and determines its own location and velocity information. In the embodiment, movingground station 403 determines its location and velocity using information received from a GPS receiver. Thisinformation 415 is passed to pathplanner algorithm software 407 throughtelemetry interface 409. As will be discussed withFIG. 11 , pathplanner algorithm software 407 determines values forcontrol variables 417 that instructUAV 401 to travel on a desired path (e.g., a circular path around moving ground station 403).Telemetry interface 409 inserts command information into radio messages that are sent toUAV 401 overwireless communications channel 413.UAV 401 processes received radio messages to extract values of control variables and passes the extracted values to autopilot hardware andsoftware 405 to instruct the propulsion system to travel on the desired path. -
FIG. 5 shows apparatus 500 for controlling twovehicles vehicle 501 corresponds to a surveillance vehicle (e.g.,UAV 10 as shown inFIG. 1 ),vehicle 503 corresponds to a convoy vehicle (e.g. vehicle 12), andcontrol center 505 has a fixed position.Control center 505 communicates withvehicle 501 andvehicle 503 overcommunications channels Control center 505 receives position and velocity information from bothvehicles communication interface 509, which passes theinformation 515 to pathplanner algorithm software 507 that implements the flow diagram as shown inFIG. 11 . Pathplanner algorithm software 507 determines values ofcontrol variables 517, which are sent tovehicle 501 and/orvehicle 503 so thatvehicle 501 maintains a desired path with respect tovehicle 503. -
FIG. 6 shows apparatus for a controller 600 (e.g., movingground station 403 or control center 505) according to an embodiment of the invention.Controller 600 comprisesprocessor 601,communications interface 603, andGPS receiver 605. Embodiments of the invention may utilize an inertial navigational system (e.g., a gyroscopic navigational system) to determine position and velocity information.Processor 601 receives position and velocity information from a surveillance vehicle (not shown) throughcommunications interface 603 overwireless communications channel 609. The embodiment supports a variety of wireless communications channels including light, microwave, infrared, and sonar communication channels. In addition,controller 600 obtains position and velocity information from a convoy vehicle for a configuration corresponding toapparatus 500 or obtains its own position and velocity information for a configuration corresponding toapparatus 400. For a configuration in whichcontroller 600 determines its own position and velocity information,controller 600 typically obtains GPS information fromGPS receiver 605 overradio channel 607.Processor 601 implements a path planner algorithm to determine values for control variables. The values for the control variables are sent to the controlled vehicles throughcommunications interface 603 overwireless communications channel 609. -
FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of an apparatus of unmannedaerial vehicle 700 according to an embodiment of the invention.UAV 700 includespropulsion system 707 andguidance system 705 which powers and guidesUAV 700 in its desired path, respectively.UAV 700 receives instructions throughdata communications interface 713 overwireless communication channel 717 from a controller (e.g., controller 600) that contains values for control variables.Processor 701 extracts and processes the instructed values from the received instructions. Processed values are presented toguidance system 705 so thatUAV 700 follows the desired path. -
UAV 700 determines position and velocity information about itself from GPS information received byGPS receiver 711 overradio channel 715 and from data acquired bydata acquisition module 703. The embodiment also supports methods that determine position and velocity ofUAV 700, e.g. triangulation techniques, that are known in the art.UAV 700 sends the position and velocity information to the controller throughdata transmission interface 713. -
UAV 700 collects surveillance images throughcamera 709 and transmits the images to a convoy vehicle throughdata transmission interface 713 overwireless communication channel 717.UAV 700 may includeauxiliary munitions module 721 that is equipped with one or more smoke grenades that may be released to identify potential ambush sites, with air-to-air missiles, and the like. Also,UAV 700 may includeauxiliary communication module 719 to provide jamming of an adversary's communications channel or to provide an auxiliary wireless channel to supplementdata transmission interface 713. - Embodiments of the invention may implement the path planner algorithm at the controller. The controller may be located at different locations for different configurations. For example, the controller may correspond to vehicle 12 (as shown in
FIG. 1 ), ship 22 (as shown inFIG. 2 ), moving ground station 403 (as shown inFIG. 4 ), or control center 505 (as shown inFIG. 5 ). - Another embodiment of the invention may implement the path planner algorithm software in the UAV rather than in the controller. In such cases, the UAV receives position and velocity information about the convoy and path parameters about the desired path. The UAV internally determines values for the control variables rather than receiving the values from the controller.
- Computer Hardware and Software
- In one implementation, the UAVs disclosed herein use the CloudCap autonomous flight control platform. A Software Developer Kit (SDK) enables third-party applications to interface with the Piccolo software for purposes of flight control, data acquisition, and payload data transmission. The system interfaces a UAV control system to the platform via this SDK, providing integration of the high-level adaptive behavior control system with a low-level autonomous control system and communication link.
- Path Planning Algorithm
- A path planning algorithm allows a UAV (e.g., an airplane) to remain at a relatively fixed distance in front of the convoy vehicle (e.g., a car or a boat) or around the convoy vehicle when the velocity of the UAV, vUAV, is faster than the velocity of the boat, vCONVOY. The following description relates to an algorithm for identifying a path of an unmanned aerial vehicle in relation to a ground vehicle.
- Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) travels a curvilinear path 360° around a convoy, which comprises at least one ground vehicle or at least one water vehicle. A camera that is mounted on the UAV points at the convoy. A nominal distance between the UAV and the convoy is user controllable. Also, the algorithm is cognizant of aircraft operational considerations that must not be exceeded.
- In an example of the embodiment, the UAV is constrained to an airspeed between 30 knots and 55 knots, a vertical speed of less than 500 ft/min, a roll angle of less than 28 degrees, a mounted camera pointing at “9 o'clock” and 25 degrees below horizon (left wing), and a camera field of view of 46 degrees horizontal with a 4:3 (NTSC) frame shape.
-
FIG. 8 shows a relationship between convoy position and aircraft position according to an embodiment of the invention.Vector 805 represents the aircraft position P (or velocity V),vector 801 represents the convoy position Pc (or convoy velocity Vc), andvector 803 represents the relative position Pr (or relative velocity Vr). In the example shown inFIG. 8 ,vectors -
FIG. 9 shows a front view of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 901 according to an embodiment of the invention.Camera 903 is mounted onleft wing 905 at cam angle (camera angle) 909. By way of example, the nominal camera angle is approximately 25 degrees. The roll angle is represented as roll angle (Φ) 907. -
FIG. 10 shows the relationship between relative velocity and the radial error velocity according to an embodiment of the invention.Vector 1001 represents the old relative velocity (Vr) andvector 1003 represents the newrelative velocity 1003, which is related withvector 1001 byvector 1005. Vector (Vrad— err) 1005 represents the error in the radial velocity.Angle ψ 1007 is the angle betweenvector 1001 andvector 1003 and corresponds to the heading change. The objective is to reduceV rad— err 1005 with heading changes. (Ideally, one choosesangle ψ 1007 to make Vrad— err=0 so that:
ψ=a sin{V rad— err /∥V r∥} (Equation 1)
if |Vrad— err|<∥Vr∥sin(max_angle). Otherwise,
ψ=sign(V rad— err)max_angle (Equation 2),
where max_angle is the maximum bank angle. -
FIG. 11 shows flow diagram 1100 for path planner algorithm software according to an embodiment of the invention. In flow diagram 1100, the following nomenclature is used:Φ− roll angle command Φ−* first roll angle command update Φ−** second roll angle command update Va aircraft true airspeed g gravity constant Pr relative position (aircraft to convoy) Pd desired radial range A altitude command cam camera angle Gain control constant Vrad — errerror in radial velocity max_angle maximum bank angle ψ heading angle command - In
step 1101, the initial roll angle command is determined by:
Φ− =a tan{V a ·V r/(g∥P r∥)} (Equation 3)
The roll angle (Φ−) command may be bounded (saturated) so that a maximum roll angle (which is dependent upon the constraints of the aircraft) is not exceeded before proceeding to step 1105. Instep 1105, the first update of the roll angle command is determined by:
Φ−*=Φ−+(π/2−a cos{V a ·P r/(∥V a ∥∥P r∥)}) (Equation 4) - If |Vrad
— err/∥Vr∥sin(max_angle),step 1107 determines the desired heading by:
ψ=a sin{V rad— err /∥V r∥} (Equation 5)
Otherwise,step 1107 determines the desired heading by:
ψ=sign(V rad— err)max_angle (Equation 6) - In
step 1108, the second update roll angle command is determined by:
Φ−**=Φ−*−ψ (Equation 7),
where Φ−* is determined fromEquation 4 and ψ is determined fromEquations - In
step 1103, the altitude (A) command is determined from Pr and roll angle by:
A=∥P r∥tan(Φ− +cam), (Equation 8),
where Φ− is determined fromEquation 3. - In
step 1111, values of control variables (altitude and roll angle commands) are provided to the guidance system (e.g.,guidance system 705 as shown inFIG. 7 ) so that the surveillance vehicle follows a desired curvilinear (at least in part), closed-loop path with respect to the convoy vehicle. If the surveillance vehicle is not initially traveling on the desired path, the vehicle's path will converge to the desired path as illustrated inFIG. 19 . - An embodiment of the invention includes the path controller algorithm as well as the software tool that has been developed for an easy development of this kind of controllers for the Piccolo systems.
- Due to the time-consuming process of flight-testing, a simulation environment of the airplane and the ground vehicle is desirable for the development of path controllers. An embodiment provides an aircraft simulation environment, which incorporates a portion of the flying hardware. To complete the simulation environment, a ground vehicle model, the car model, is developed.
- The controller development platform (CDP) is a software kit that assists with the development and testing of UAV mission feasibilities. The path controller software developed by this kit ultimately resides on a computer that is connected to the ground station. Since the airplane can be simulated by the simulator, only a ground vehicle simulator needs to be constructed in the CDP.
- The CDP may provide all the necessary information for path generation, from the aircraft data to the ground station data. This information may take on the form of packets of structures. The CDP has already written the “de-multiplexer” portion of the software that deciphers and stores the serial data from the ground station. These data is extracted and fed into the path-planning algorithm that computes and returns future navigation points. The future navigation points are then packed into a package and then sent to the ground station. The packaging and the serial communication functions may be provided by the CDP.
- As an example,
FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a simulation architecture. The bottom layer, CloudCap Communication SDK 1217 is a library that provides communication primitives between the controller and the ground station through serial port. The library comes with a packet dispatcher. Inside this module a routine is nested that forwards the packet received from the ground station to the correct modules. - The packets are passed to two modules: real
car status module 1211 andairplane status module 1213.Modules packet dispatcher 1215. -
Car model module 1209 maintains the status of a simulated car. The information is the same as those that are kept by realcar status module 1211. -
MUX module 1207 simple decide which set of data to fetch to theopen loop controller 1203. In the testing phase the data is taken fromcar model module 1209; in the real ground test the data is taken fromreal car module 1211. - EECF/
LLA conversion module 1205 supports the conversion between the data format used by the ACR system (GPS Longitude Latitude Altitude format) into a format more suitable for the development of the controller (Earth Centered Earth Fix). - The interaction between the user and the application is managed through a
GUI module 1201 that displays a subset of the information fetched tocontroller 1203. The user can monitor the performances ofcontroller 1203 observing the displayed trajectory of the airplane and the car and reading the list of the waypoint that are sent. The user commandsMUX 1207 and sets the Car Model parameters throughGUI 1201. -
Path controller module 1203 is implemented by the developer. The necessary data is extracted from the packets fromMUX module 1207, which has been converted into the appropriate format by ECEF/LLA Conversion module 1205. The data provided for this module includes: airplane position, altitude, and airspeed (true air speed as well as from the GPS receiver). After computing future waypoints,path controller module 1203 returns a list of waypoints that are in the LLA format used by the Piccolo. The future waypoints come in packages of three, which is chosen guard against communication packet loss. The packaging of waypoints is done by routines provided by the Cloud Cap Communication SDK library, which also sends the routes to the ground station. The ground station ultimately forwards these packets to the airplane. - Coordinate Transformations
- Global Positioning System (GPS) for the car and the plane's location uses the Cartesian coordinate system called Earth-Centered, Earth-Fixed (ECEF).
FIG. 13 shows how an object, R, in the sky can be represented in ECEF coordinates, x, y, and z. Here, the axes X, Y, and Z are fixed with respect to the earth where their origins are the earth's center of gravity and Z-axis is coming out through the North Pole. - Given ECEF coordinate system, it is represented in Local Tangent Plane (LTP) which uses the orientation, North, East, and Down (into the Earth) where it considers the Earth's local surface being projected onto the gray plane as shown in
FIG. 14 . The calculation of this relation is shown as follows: - LTP coordinates are transformed to local car's Cartesian (LOCA) coordinate system as show in
FIG. 15 . (Note: Down-axis and the z-axis are pointing into the paper and not shown inFIG. 15 .) Generating plane path in this coordinate system allows simple manipulation in the code. For example, by placing an imaginary point in x-direction (car's heading) by 5 meters, the point will always be in front of the car by 5 meters in ECEF and LTP coordinate system. Below, equation for transforming LTP to LOCA is shown as follows: - In the implementation, a function transf(x,y,z,ret,flag) transforms these different types of coordinate system to another with a specified flag.
- Implementing the Theory of Path Generation
- First, the current status of the ground speed and the position of the plane, car, and the wind are received from the main code in a structure format named path_generator_input.
- Second, psi, lam, phi (for coordinate transformations), (car_speed vb), (plane_speed vp) are calculated as follows:
- Third, if the ratio of the velocities (σ) of the plane and the car is greater than some threshold (in an embodiment equal to 3), the function circle_path( ) is called to allow the plane to fly in circles above the car, and otherwise, a non-circular path is generated by desired_path( ). This eliminates the need for the plane to fly in extraneously large amplitudes of sinusoidal path when the car is moving slowly.
- Fourth, in the function desired_path( ), the plane's future paths are generated with the consideration of communication speed and car's current position. The current implementation does not consider the real plane's position and assumes that the plane is following the path correctly.
- As shown in
FIG. 16A , The plane's desiredpath 1653 initially starts in front of thecar 1651 by a predefined value, AHEAD_CAR. This can be done by adding the offset, AHEAD_CAR, to the car's position in x-direction in LOCA coordinate system. - Vectors delta_x_p 1601B, 1601C and
delta_y_p FIGS. 16B and 16C . Because all the calculations are done in LOCA coordinates before transforming it to ECEF coordinates, this allows the path to turn its direction as the car turns. And the delta in z-direction is set to zero to maintain the height of the plane from its initial condition. Then these X, Y, and Z points will be sent to the main function in a structure format named path_generator_output, which then it will be sent to the Piccolo box. - Finally, as the plane comes back and crosses the car's track again (as shown in
FIG. 16D ) it initializes the plane's new desired points to be in front of the car by AHEAD_CAR. This is required since when the car makes turns, it displaces the plane's location in x-direction (in LOCA) that needs to be compensated by this process. - Hardware in the Loop Simulation Setup
- A simulation setup may be used to test the feasibility of the path-planning algorithm. A hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation environment may be used. During the simulation, the ground station, the ground station computer, and the airborne avionics (the Piccolo box) are all incorporated into the process. However, unlike during actual flight, the Piccolo box sends its commands into a controller area network (CAN) bus instead of the servos that would maneuver the UAV. The CAN bus translates the avionics' control information into serial communication and feeds the signals into the USB port of a computer that is running aircraft simulation software. The simulation software runs a model of an aircraft by taking in the control inputs from the CAN bus. The model describes the aircraft by a set of parameters that is gathered empirically. The simulation program calculates the responses of the aircraft, such as GPS position, airspeed, and acceleration, and returns them back to the Piccolo box. This data is then returned via the wireless link back to the ground station, which is available for use or for recording purposes. This simulation process most directly tests the feasibility of the entire system by incorporating factors such as the wireless and serial communications as well as the path-planning algorithm all at once.
- The simulator has visualization capability that provides a more intuitive feel of the behavior of the aircraft. The simulation sends out UDP packets, which contains the position and the Euler angles of the aircraft, to a designated visualization computer. These packets are then process by software such as FlightGear or Microsoft Flight Simulator for viewing. Due to the high demand of processor power for visualization, a computer independent from the simulator computer is used. A diagram of the simulation setup is shown in
FIG. 17 . - Car Model Simulation Implementation
- Trajectories are identified in real-time so that, when followed by a UAV, the UAV will stay in the vicinity of a designated ground vehicle. A ground station is mounted onto the designated ground vehicle. However, for simulation purposes, a car model is devised to feed into the path-planner program pseudo information of the ground vehicle. The car model is built by keeping track of the position as well as the velocity vector of the simulated car. The model resides in a software loop that is run once per second. The position of the car is updated by
Equation 9 and 10:
Car_Latitude(T+1)=Car_Latitude(T)+Car_north_speed— LL*deltaT (Equation 9)
Car_Longitude(T+1)=Car_Longitude(T)+Car_east_speed— LL*deltaT (Equation 10),
where the position of the car model is reported in degrees of latitude and longitude. Since the algorithm is run once every second, an update of the car model's position occurs at 1 Hz, and so the deltaT variable inEquations - The car model's velocity vector has a size as well as a directional component, and they are modified by the clicks of buttons on the path-planner's graphic user interface (GUI). The equation for changing the velocity magnitude and direction information is reproduced in
Equations
Car_Heading(new)=Car_Heading(current)±delta_Car_Heading (Equation 11)
Car_Speed(new)=Car_Speed(current)±delta_Car_Speed (Equation 12),
where the Car_Heading variable has the units of radians and the Car_Speed variable has the units of meters per second. Each time a button is clicked on the GUI, the variables are manipulated by a certain preset amount, which is specified by constants delta_Car_Heading and delta_Car_Speed. The delta_Car_Heading was set to be seven point five degrees; and so every time the user clicks on the “right-turn” or “left-turn” button on the GUI, the Car_Heading variable increases or decreases by 7.5 degrees respectively. As for the speed information, each click of the “accelerate” or “decelerate” button would increase or decrease the Car_Speed variable by an amount of delta_Car_Speed. The delta_Car_Speed variable is chosen to be two miles per hour, which translates to roughly 0.477 meters per second. Since the heading and speed information is changed every time a button click has occurred, one can think of the changes as having units of “7.5 degrees per click” and “0.477 [m/s] per click” for the heading and the speed respectively. - Translating from Car_Heading and Car_Speed information to Car_north_speed_LL and Car_east_speed_LL is a two-step procedure. First, the north and the east components of the velocity vectors are extracted from the Car_Heading and Car_Speed information. Then, each of the components is translated from meters per second into degrees per second. Notice the “LL” attached to the tail of the velocity components in
Equations
Car_north_speed=Car_Speed*COS(Car_Heading) (equation 13)
Car_east_speed=Car_Speed*SIN(Car_Heading) (equation 14) - Since the velocity components are still in the units of meters per second, the second step is to translate them into degrees per second. This step is achieved by first dividing each of the velocity components by the radius of the earth, and then multiplying each by 180/π to attain the units of degrees. This procedure is performed per
Equations 15 and 16 below:
Car_north_speed— LL=(Car_north_speed/rLat)*180/π (Equation 15)
Car_east_speed— LL=(Car_north_speed/rLon)*180/π (Equation 16) - There are two different radii because the car model travels in a different circle when traveling in a north-south direction than in an east-west direction.
FIG. 18 illustrates these points. - The initial position of the car model takes on the latitude and longitude values of the simulated aircraft at the moment that the simulator is started. By knowing the latitude of the aircraft, the rLat and rLon in
FIG. 18 may be found using known parameters of the earth and trigonometry. The earth datum is defined per the World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84). Once the radii are found, the angular velocity of the north and east components may be found. By multiplying the angular velocities by the deltaT inEquations FIG. 18 , may be found, which is used inEquations - In order to switch between the simulation and the real-world scenarios, a pre-compiler flag arrangement is used. Depending on how this flag is set, the compiled executable sends either the actual or the simulated car data to the path generation algorithm.
-
FIG. 19 shows a simulation of the path planner algorithm software as shown in the flow diagram inFIG. 11 . While the simulated UAV does not initially have a circular path, the simulated UAV does converge to a circular path having a desired radial distance. The simulation shown inFIG. 19 demonstrates the robustness of the path determination algorithm to the effects of wind. InFIG. 19 , the simulated wind is from the direction of 90 degrees at 6.00 m/sec, and the airspeed of the simulated UAV is 23.15 m/sec. -
FIG. 20 shows a heavy fuels engine that propels an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention. Just behind the propeller is the ignition timing ring that contains a magnet that triggers the ignition to fire at the proper time in the operational cycle. The twisted wire on the right side of the front of the engine (as viewed from the back of the engine) is the wire going from the Hall Effect sensor that triggers the ignition system. The ignition system itself is outside the frame ofFIG. 20 . The ignition system high-voltage lead can be seen in the upper right ofFIG. 20 . (It is the thick wire going to the top of the engine and terminates in a spark plug cap (partially seen).) The electric pre-heater and aluminum intake manifold are immediately behind the high-voltage lead. The electric pre-heater is an off-the-shelf Bosch glow plug designed for use in automotive diesel engines. The exhaust system and muffler exit from the right side of the cylinder head (as viewed from the back of the engine). The small tube is a pressure line to the fuel tank that pressurizes the fuel system. The carburetor itself is partially visible just above the tape in the rear of the engine. The long, thin protrusion from the carburetor is part of the air-fuel high-speed mixture adjustment needle. The heavy fuels engine may incorporate an electric preheater and spark ignition. The preheater may be in a different location (e.g., the air intake vs. the cylinder itself). - In one embodiment, the fuel for the engine maybe a mixture of JP-5 or JP-8 and lubricant in an 8:1 ratio (11% lubricant). The specific gravity is about 0.805. Lubricants include Yamalube 2-R and Honda GN-2 two-cycle engine lubricants. Too low a percentage of lubricant, or type, may negatively impact durability by increasing piston/cylinder and/or bearing wear. Conversely, too high a level may decrease maximum power, as well as potentially increasing combustion chamber deposits.
- The engine may be considered a multifuel engine, running equally well on glow fuel, model diesel fuel, heavy fuels, and presumably also gasoline and automotive diesel fuels. The engine has the ability with its adjustable compression ratio to allow it to run on any of the fuels by modifying the compression ratio through the compression adjustment screw.
- As alternatives to using ether as a starting aid, compression ratios can be increased and/or the fuel heated. As an example, suitable starting was provided by a combustion chamber volume of 0.20 cc and glow plug ignition.
- In another embodiment, a modified head that incorporates an automotive diesel engine glow plug (Bosch P/N 80010) for combustion chamber pre-heating and a spark plug for ignition was provided. Use of a diesel glow plug in the combustion chamber provides a large source of heat in the presence of the compressed fuel-air mixture to directly vaporize the fuel, allowing it to be more easily ignited by the spark. The glow plug may heat the entire head to a temperature sufficient to vaporize the fuel and more easily ignite the fuel by the spark.
- Embodiments of the invention include:
-
- Heavy-fuels engines based on several engine types, including compression-ignition and spark-ignition
- Various starting modalities including: electric pre-heating, ether assist, propane assist, alcohol assist, and MMO assist
- Ceramic hot-zone components in an engine running on both glow fuel and JP-5
- Preferably, the engine is a small, spark-ignition heavy fuels engine. The operational characteristics with heavy fuels are currently better than compression ignition engines. Throttle transitions are smoother and the exhaust is visibly much cleaner. Compared to compression ignition engines the lower compression of spark-ignition systems also makes them a more attractive candidate for on-board starter/generators since engine weights are lighter than comparable compression ignition engines. Heavy fuels conversions of existing engines are easily accomplished with spark ignition. With compression ignition conversions, new heads with higher compression ratios must be designed and fabricated, along with strengthening the crankcases. A range of existing spark ignition engines requiring minimal modifications can be converted to heavy fuels. Additionally, with spark ignition compression ratios can be maintained at or near base engine levels, resulting in much lower mechanical loads on the engine, yielding greater engine reliability and life.
- Preferably, the engine includes ceramic engine components. High-wear components may benefit from the hardness and durability of ceramics with heavy fuels that have no added lubricants.
- Auxiliary starting aids, such as electric preheating or ether, may be used with carbureted or port fuel injected heavy fuels engines, but may not be needed with direct cylinder fuel injection. The higher injection pressures of direct injection atomize the fuel so finely that additional starting aids may not be required. While electric pre-heating of the engine is effective, it may require several minutes or more to heat the engine to a point of starting. It also may increase the engine weight as well as requiring a battery of a size that makes it impractical as part of an airborne restart system. Starting aids such as propane, butane, ether, or alcohol are small and lightweight. There is no pre-heating required and they are able to start engines within 1 to 10 seconds depending on engine type and ambient conditions. Additionally, due to their light weight they can be incorporated into on-board starting systems for in-flight restarts.
-
FIG. 21 shows technical performance indices for heavy fuels engines according to embodiments of the invention. - Aspects of the invention may also be applied to non-aerial embodiments. For example, ground vehicles and water-based vehicles (including underwater vehicles, e.g., submarines) may utilize several of the concepts disclosed above.
- As can be appreciated by one skilled in the art, a computer system with an associated computer-readable medium containing instructions for controlling the computer system can be utilized to implement the exemplary embodiments that are disclosed herein. The computer system may include at least one computer such as a microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor, and associated peripheral electronic circuitry.
- While the invention has been described with respect to specific examples including presently preferred modes of carrying out the invention, those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are numerous variations and permutations of the above described systems and techniques that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
Claims (21)
Φ− =a tan{V a ·V r/(g∥P r∥)}, wherein Va is an aircraft true velocity, Vr is a relative velocity, and Pr is a relative position.
Φ−*=Φ−+(π/2−a cos{V a ·P r/(∥V a ∥∥P r∥)})
Φ−**=Φ−*−ψ, wherein ψ is determined by:
A=∥P r∥tan(Φ− +cam), wherein cam corresponds to a mounting angle of a camera.
Φ− =a tan{V a ·V r/(g∥P r∥)}, wherein Va is an aircraft true velocity, Vr is a relative velocity, and Pr is a relative position.
Φ−*=Φ−+(π/2−a cos{V a ·P r/(∥V a ∥∥P r∥)})
Φ−**=Φ−*−ψ, wherein ψ is determined by:
A=∥P r∥tan(Φ− +cam), wherein cam corresponds to a mounting angle of a camera.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US11/011,001 US7299130B2 (en) | 2003-12-12 | 2004-12-13 | Unmanned vehicle |
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US52938803P | 2003-12-12 | 2003-12-12 | |
US968104A | 2004-12-10 | 2004-12-10 | |
US11/011,001 US7299130B2 (en) | 2003-12-12 | 2004-12-13 | Unmanned vehicle |
Related Parent Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US968104A Continuation-In-Part | 2003-12-12 | 2004-12-10 |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20060074557A1 true US20060074557A1 (en) | 2006-04-06 |
US7299130B2 US7299130B2 (en) | 2007-11-20 |
Family
ID=35510304
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US11/011,001 Active US7299130B2 (en) | 2003-12-12 | 2004-12-13 | Unmanned vehicle |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US7299130B2 (en) |
WO (1) | WO2005123502A2 (en) |
Cited By (83)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20060116070A1 (en) * | 2004-10-26 | 2006-06-01 | Swisscom Mobile Ag | Method and vehicle for sending electronic advertisements |
US20060167622A1 (en) * | 2005-01-24 | 2006-07-27 | Bodin William K | Navigating UAVs in formations |
US20060167597A1 (en) * | 2005-01-24 | 2006-07-27 | Bodin William K | Enabling services on a UAV |
US20060184292A1 (en) * | 2005-02-16 | 2006-08-17 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | Mission planning system for vehicles with varying levels of autonomy |
US20070131822A1 (en) * | 2005-06-20 | 2007-06-14 | Kevin Leigh Taylor Stallard | Aerial and ground robotic system |
US20090027253A1 (en) * | 2007-07-09 | 2009-01-29 | Eads Deutschland Gmbh | Collision and conflict avoidance system for autonomous unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) |
US20090088916A1 (en) * | 2007-09-28 | 2009-04-02 | Honeywell International Inc. | Method and system for automatic path planning and obstacle/collision avoidance of autonomous vehicles |
US20090251354A1 (en) * | 2006-09-07 | 2009-10-08 | Dov Zahavi | Method and system for extending operational electronic range of a vehicle |
US20090295635A1 (en) * | 2008-06-03 | 2009-12-03 | Honeywell International Inc. | Steerable directional antenna system for autonomous air vehicle communication |
US20090319112A1 (en) * | 2007-09-28 | 2009-12-24 | Honeywell International Inc. | Automatic planning and regulation of the speed of autonomous vehicles |
US20100001902A1 (en) * | 2005-01-21 | 2010-01-07 | The Boeing Company | Situation awareness display |
US20100042269A1 (en) * | 2007-12-14 | 2010-02-18 | Kokkeby Kristen L | System and methods relating to autonomous tracking and surveillance |
US20110046837A1 (en) * | 2009-08-19 | 2011-02-24 | Deepak Khosla | System and method for resource allocation and management |
US20110181767A1 (en) * | 2010-01-26 | 2011-07-28 | Southwest Research Institute | Vision System |
US20110301925A1 (en) * | 2010-06-08 | 2011-12-08 | Southwest Research Institute | Optical State Estimation And Simulation Environment For Unmanned Aerial Vehicles |
US8086351B2 (en) * | 2004-02-06 | 2011-12-27 | Icosystem Corporation | Methods and systems for area search using a plurality of unmanned vehicles |
US20120029732A1 (en) * | 2010-07-29 | 2012-02-02 | Axel Roland Meyer | Harvester with a sensor mounted on an aircraft |
US8121749B1 (en) | 2008-09-25 | 2012-02-21 | Honeywell International Inc. | System for integrating dynamically observed and static information for route planning in a graph based planner |
US20120209652A1 (en) * | 2011-02-14 | 2012-08-16 | Deepak Khosla | System and method for resource allocation and management |
CN102880185A (en) * | 2011-07-13 | 2013-01-16 | 波音公司 | Solar energy collection flight path management system for aircraft |
US20130079954A1 (en) * | 2008-12-19 | 2013-03-28 | Reconrobotics, Inc. | System and method for autonomous vehicle control |
US8466406B2 (en) | 2011-05-12 | 2013-06-18 | Southwest Research Institute | Wide-angle laser signal sensor having a 360 degree field of view in a horizontal plane and a positive 90 degree field of view in a vertical plane |
WO2014016240A1 (en) * | 2012-07-26 | 2014-01-30 | Geonumerics, S.L. | Method for the acquisition and processing of geographical information of a path |
US20140062758A1 (en) * | 2011-01-21 | 2014-03-06 | Farrokh Mohamadi | Intelligent detection of buried ieds |
US20140227967A1 (en) * | 2011-09-16 | 2014-08-14 | Excelerate Technology Limited | Satellite communication centre |
US20140303870A1 (en) * | 2011-07-06 | 2014-10-09 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Systems and methods for semi-autonomous vehicular convoys |
US20140316614A1 (en) * | 2012-12-17 | 2014-10-23 | David L. Newman | Drone for collecting images and system for categorizing image data |
US8930058B1 (en) * | 2008-10-20 | 2015-01-06 | The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Navy | System and method for controlling a vehicle traveling along a path |
EP2881709A1 (en) * | 2013-12-06 | 2015-06-10 | BAE Systems PLC | Determining routes for aircraft |
US9087451B1 (en) * | 2014-07-14 | 2015-07-21 | John A. Jarrell | Unmanned aerial vehicle communication, monitoring, and traffic management |
US20150251756A1 (en) * | 2013-11-29 | 2015-09-10 | The Boeing Company | System and method for commanding a payload of an aircraft |
JP2016068764A (en) * | 2014-09-30 | 2016-05-09 | 富士重工業株式会社 | Method of controlling flight of aircraft and flight control system of the aircraft |
EP2976687A4 (en) * | 2014-05-30 | 2016-05-18 | Sz Dji Technology Co Ltd | Systems and methods for uav docking |
US20160159462A1 (en) * | 2013-08-30 | 2016-06-09 | Insitu, Inc. | Systems and methods for configurable user interfaces |
US20160173740A1 (en) * | 2014-12-12 | 2016-06-16 | Cox Automotive, Inc. | Systems and methods for automatic vehicle imaging |
US20160230851A1 (en) * | 2015-02-06 | 2016-08-11 | FLIR Belgium BVBA | Belt drive tensioning system |
US9454151B2 (en) * | 2014-05-20 | 2016-09-27 | Verizon Patent And Licensing Inc. | User interfaces for selecting unmanned aerial vehicles and mission plans for unmanned aerial vehicles |
KR20160137442A (en) * | 2015-05-20 | 2016-11-30 | 주식회사 윌러스표준기술연구소 | A drone and a method for controlling thereof |
EP3247103A1 (en) * | 2016-05-20 | 2017-11-22 | Lg Electronics Inc. | Drone and method for controlling the same |
US20180024547A1 (en) * | 2016-09-26 | 2018-01-25 | Dji Technology, Inc. | System and method for movable object control |
US20180037321A1 (en) * | 2016-08-05 | 2018-02-08 | Christopher Wilkinson | Law enforcement drone |
US10051178B2 (en) * | 2013-12-06 | 2018-08-14 | Bae Systems Plc | Imaging method and appartus |
US10078338B2 (en) | 2015-08-26 | 2018-09-18 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Devices, systems, and methods for remote authorization of autonomous vehicle operation |
EP3388914A1 (en) * | 2017-04-14 | 2018-10-17 | Thales | Target tracking method performed by a drone, related computer program, electronic system and drone |
US10133281B1 (en) * | 2017-05-05 | 2018-11-20 | Pinnacle Vista, LLC | Leading drone system |
US10152064B2 (en) | 2016-08-22 | 2018-12-11 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Applications for using mass estimations for vehicles |
US10170011B2 (en) * | 2016-07-26 | 2019-01-01 | International Business Machines Corporation | Guide drones for airplanes on the ground |
US10173772B2 (en) * | 2015-12-30 | 2019-01-08 | Namsung Co., Ltd. | Automatic flight control system and method for unmanned drone |
US10203691B2 (en) | 2013-12-06 | 2019-02-12 | Bae Systems Plc | Imaging method and apparatus |
US20190072983A1 (en) * | 2017-09-06 | 2019-03-07 | Autel Robotics Co., Ltd. | Aerial vehicle landing method, aerial vehicle, and computer readable storage medium |
WO2019060568A1 (en) * | 2017-09-21 | 2019-03-28 | X Development Llc | Systems and methods for controlling an aerial vehicle using lateral propulsion and vertical movement |
US10254764B2 (en) | 2016-05-31 | 2019-04-09 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Platoon controller state machine |
US20190107440A1 (en) * | 2015-05-12 | 2019-04-11 | BioSensing Systems, LLC | Apparatuses And Methods For Bio-Sensing Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles |
US10317904B2 (en) * | 2017-05-05 | 2019-06-11 | Pinnacle Vista, LLC | Underwater leading drone system |
US20190182623A1 (en) * | 2016-08-10 | 2019-06-13 | SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. | System and method for managing movable object communications |
US10343589B2 (en) | 2016-07-29 | 2019-07-09 | International Business Machines Corporation | Drone-enhanced vehicle external lights |
GB2570137A (en) * | 2018-01-12 | 2019-07-17 | Ford Global Tech Llc | A motor vehicle and method for a motor vehicle |
US10364026B1 (en) * | 2015-09-21 | 2019-07-30 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Track and tether vehicle position estimation |
US10369998B2 (en) | 2016-08-22 | 2019-08-06 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Dynamic gap control for automated driving |
US10474166B2 (en) | 2011-07-06 | 2019-11-12 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | System and method for implementing pre-cognition braking and/or avoiding or mitigation risks among platooning vehicles |
US10481614B2 (en) | 2011-07-06 | 2019-11-19 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Vehicle platooning systems and methods |
US10514706B2 (en) | 2011-07-06 | 2019-12-24 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Gap measurement for vehicle convoying |
US10520581B2 (en) | 2011-07-06 | 2019-12-31 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Sensor fusion for autonomous or partially autonomous vehicle control |
US10520952B1 (en) | 2011-07-06 | 2019-12-31 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Devices, systems, and methods for transmitting vehicle data |
US10529221B2 (en) | 2016-04-19 | 2020-01-07 | Navio International, Inc. | Modular approach for smart and customizable security solutions and other applications for a smart city |
US10650621B1 (en) | 2016-09-13 | 2020-05-12 | Iocurrents, Inc. | Interfacing with a vehicular controller area network |
US20200256644A1 (en) * | 2009-02-02 | 2020-08-13 | Aerovironment, Inc. | Multimode unmanned aerial vehicle |
US10762791B2 (en) | 2018-10-29 | 2020-09-01 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Systems and methods for managing communications between vehicles |
US10820574B2 (en) | 2016-07-29 | 2020-11-03 | International Business Machines Corporation | Specialized contextual drones for virtual fences |
US10838837B2 (en) * | 2016-06-24 | 2020-11-17 | International Business Machines Corporation | Sensor based system state prediction |
US20200409366A1 (en) * | 2018-03-05 | 2020-12-31 | Root3 Labs, Inc. | Remote deployed obscuration system |
US10953976B2 (en) | 2009-09-09 | 2021-03-23 | Aerovironment, Inc. | Air vehicle system having deployable airfoils and rudder |
CN112631145A (en) * | 2020-11-20 | 2021-04-09 | 福州大学 | Semi-physical simulation system for unmanned aerial vehicle vision combined navigation test |
EP3273201B1 (en) | 2016-07-21 | 2021-06-30 | Arquus | Method of calculating an itinerary for an off-road vehicle |
US11220320B2 (en) | 2019-07-17 | 2022-01-11 | Aerostar International, Inc. | Lateral propulsion systems and architectures for high altitude balloons |
US11294396B2 (en) | 2013-03-15 | 2022-04-05 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | System and method for implementing pre-cognition braking and/or avoiding or mitigation risks among platooning vehicles |
US11319087B2 (en) | 2009-09-09 | 2022-05-03 | Aerovironment, Inc. | Systems and devices for remotely operated unmanned aerial vehicle report-suppressing launcher with portable RF transparent launch tube |
US11367361B2 (en) * | 2019-02-22 | 2022-06-21 | Kyndryl, Inc. | Emulating unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) |
US20220214702A1 (en) * | 2020-10-29 | 2022-07-07 | Luis M. Ortiz | Systems and methods enabling evasive uav movements during hover and flight |
US11427196B2 (en) | 2019-04-15 | 2022-08-30 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Systems and methods for managing tractor-trailers |
US20220402630A1 (en) * | 2021-06-16 | 2022-12-22 | Beta Air, Llc | Methods and systems for wrapping simulated intra-aircraft communication to a physical controller area network |
US11554845B2 (en) | 2017-12-21 | 2023-01-17 | Aerostar International, Llc | Propulsion system for a buoyant aerial vehicle |
US20230069579A1 (en) * | 2021-08-23 | 2023-03-02 | Dish Wireless L.L.C. | Uav-supported mobile communications network |
Families Citing this family (59)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US7542828B2 (en) * | 2005-07-01 | 2009-06-02 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | Unmanned air vehicle, integrated weapon platform, avionics system and control method |
US8855846B2 (en) * | 2005-10-20 | 2014-10-07 | Jason W. Grzywna | System and method for onboard vision processing |
US7970506B2 (en) * | 2006-01-19 | 2011-06-28 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | System for maintaining communication between teams of vehicles |
US7765062B2 (en) | 2006-04-25 | 2010-07-27 | Honeywell International Inc. | Method and system for autonomous tracking of a mobile target by an unmanned aerial vehicle |
US7813888B2 (en) * | 2006-07-24 | 2010-10-12 | The Boeing Company | Autonomous vehicle rapid development testbed systems and methods |
US20100250022A1 (en) * | 2006-12-29 | 2010-09-30 | Air Recon, Inc. | Useful unmanned aerial vehicle |
US7681832B2 (en) | 2007-05-02 | 2010-03-23 | Honeywell International Inc. | Ducted fan air vehicle with deployable wings |
US7865277B1 (en) * | 2007-05-07 | 2011-01-04 | The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Navy | Obstacle avoidance system and method |
US7970532B2 (en) * | 2007-05-24 | 2011-06-28 | Honeywell International Inc. | Flight path planning to reduce detection of an unmanned aerial vehicle |
EP2003851A1 (en) * | 2007-06-13 | 2008-12-17 | Saab Ab | An arrangement of components |
FR2924240B1 (en) * | 2007-11-23 | 2016-01-15 | Thales Sa | AUTOMATIC PILOT DEVICE AND METHOD WITH TARGET INSTINCTIVE ATTACHMENT |
US8718838B2 (en) * | 2007-12-14 | 2014-05-06 | The Boeing Company | System and methods for autonomous tracking and surveillance |
US8503941B2 (en) * | 2008-02-21 | 2013-08-06 | The Boeing Company | System and method for optimized unmanned vehicle communication using telemetry |
US8170731B2 (en) | 2008-05-05 | 2012-05-01 | Honeywell International Inc. | System and method for detecting reflection with a mobile sensor platform |
US8109711B2 (en) | 2008-07-18 | 2012-02-07 | Honeywell International Inc. | Tethered autonomous air vehicle with wind turbines |
US8070092B2 (en) * | 2008-10-31 | 2011-12-06 | Honeywell International Inc. | Noise-suppressing strut support system for an unmanned aerial vehicle |
US20110001017A1 (en) * | 2008-12-08 | 2011-01-06 | Honeywell International Inc. | Uav ducted fan swept and lean stator design |
US8348190B2 (en) * | 2009-01-26 | 2013-01-08 | Honeywell International Inc. | Ducted fan UAV control alternatives |
US20100215212A1 (en) * | 2009-02-26 | 2010-08-26 | Honeywell International Inc. | System and Method for the Inspection of Structures |
US20100228406A1 (en) * | 2009-03-03 | 2010-09-09 | Honeywell International Inc. | UAV Flight Control Method And System |
GB2468345B (en) * | 2009-03-05 | 2014-01-15 | Cranfield Aerospace Ltd | Unmanned air vehicle (uav) control system and method |
US8386095B2 (en) * | 2009-04-02 | 2013-02-26 | Honeywell International Inc. | Performing corrective action on unmanned aerial vehicle using one axis of three-axis magnetometer |
US20110095530A1 (en) * | 2009-10-26 | 2011-04-28 | Honeywell International Inc. | Tethered aquatic device with water power turbine |
US8219267B2 (en) * | 2010-05-27 | 2012-07-10 | Honeywell International Inc. | Wind estimation for an unmanned aerial vehicle |
US9004393B2 (en) | 2010-10-24 | 2015-04-14 | University Of Kansas | Supersonic hovering air vehicle |
US9145201B2 (en) * | 2011-05-26 | 2015-09-29 | Saab Ab | Method and system for steering an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle |
NO344081B1 (en) * | 2012-04-02 | 2019-09-02 | FLIR Unmanned Aerial Systems AS | Procedure and device for navigating an aircraft |
US9669926B2 (en) | 2012-12-19 | 2017-06-06 | Elwha Llc | Unoccupied flying vehicle (UFV) location confirmance |
US9235218B2 (en) | 2012-12-19 | 2016-01-12 | Elwha Llc | Collision targeting for an unoccupied flying vehicle (UFV) |
US9405296B2 (en) | 2012-12-19 | 2016-08-02 | Elwah LLC | Collision targeting for hazard handling |
US9527586B2 (en) | 2012-12-19 | 2016-12-27 | Elwha Llc | Inter-vehicle flight attribute communication for an unoccupied flying vehicle (UFV) |
US10518877B2 (en) | 2012-12-19 | 2019-12-31 | Elwha Llc | Inter-vehicle communication for hazard handling for an unoccupied flying vehicle (UFV) |
US10279906B2 (en) | 2012-12-19 | 2019-05-07 | Elwha Llc | Automated hazard handling routine engagement |
US9567074B2 (en) * | 2012-12-19 | 2017-02-14 | Elwha Llc | Base station control for an unoccupied flying vehicle (UFV) |
US9540102B2 (en) | 2012-12-19 | 2017-01-10 | Elwha Llc | Base station multi-vehicle coordination |
US9810789B2 (en) | 2012-12-19 | 2017-11-07 | Elwha Llc | Unoccupied flying vehicle (UFV) location assurance |
US9527587B2 (en) | 2012-12-19 | 2016-12-27 | Elwha Llc | Unoccupied flying vehicle (UFV) coordination |
US9747809B2 (en) | 2012-12-19 | 2017-08-29 | Elwha Llc | Automated hazard handling routine activation |
WO2015082594A1 (en) * | 2013-12-06 | 2015-06-11 | Bae Systems Plc | Determining routes for aircraft |
EP2881823A1 (en) * | 2013-12-06 | 2015-06-10 | BAE Systems PLC | Imaging method and apparatus |
US9798324B2 (en) | 2014-07-18 | 2017-10-24 | Helico Aerospace Industries Sia | Autonomous vehicle operation |
EP3169977A4 (en) * | 2014-07-20 | 2018-05-16 | Helico Aerospace Industries SIA | Autonomous vehicle operation |
US9809305B2 (en) * | 2015-03-02 | 2017-11-07 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Landing of unmanned aerial vehicles on transportation vehicles for transport |
WO2016154943A1 (en) | 2015-03-31 | 2016-10-06 | SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. | Systems and methods for geo-fencing device communications |
CN107409051B (en) | 2015-03-31 | 2021-02-26 | 深圳市大疆创新科技有限公司 | Authentication system and method for generating flight controls |
US11140326B2 (en) * | 2015-05-22 | 2021-10-05 | The United States Of America, As Represented By The Secretary Of The Navy | Aerial video based point, distance, and velocity real-time measurement system |
US9599994B1 (en) | 2015-08-03 | 2017-03-21 | The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army | Collisionless flying of unmanned aerial vehicles that maximizes coverage of predetermined region |
WO2017131823A2 (en) * | 2015-09-16 | 2017-08-03 | Christopher Wilkinson | Space combat drone |
CN105739523B (en) * | 2015-12-07 | 2018-09-14 | 北京航空航天大学 | A kind of police vehicle-mounted unmanned aerial vehicle monitoring system and control method |
WO2017127596A1 (en) * | 2016-01-22 | 2017-07-27 | Russell David Wayne | System and method for safe positive control electronic processing for autonomous vehicles |
KR101859909B1 (en) * | 2016-06-07 | 2018-05-21 | 에스아이에스 주식회사 | System and Method for Precasting and Tracking Red Tied Using Drone |
CN109690250B (en) * | 2016-09-02 | 2023-10-27 | 菲力尔比利时有限公司 | Unmanned aerial vehicle system assisted navigation system and method |
US11430332B2 (en) * | 2016-09-02 | 2022-08-30 | FLIR Belgium BVBA | Unmanned aerial system assisted navigational systems and methods |
US10486809B2 (en) * | 2016-10-13 | 2019-11-26 | The Boeing Company | Unmanned aerial system targeting |
WO2018097836A1 (en) * | 2016-11-28 | 2018-05-31 | Empire Technology Development Llc | Surveillance route management for a device |
CN108628336B (en) * | 2017-03-16 | 2020-12-18 | 广州极飞科技有限公司 | Unmanned aerial vehicle flight control method and device and unmanned aerial vehicle |
US10423831B2 (en) | 2017-09-15 | 2019-09-24 | Honeywell International Inc. | Unmanned aerial vehicle based expansion joint failure detection system |
CN109213159A (en) * | 2018-08-30 | 2019-01-15 | 上海海事大学 | A method of marine Situation Awareness, which is carried out, with unmanned plane monitors ship path |
WO2020201693A1 (en) * | 2019-03-29 | 2020-10-08 | Bae Systems Plc | System and method for classifying vehicle behaviour |
Citations (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3573818A (en) * | 1968-08-15 | 1971-04-06 | Sierra Research Corp | Follow-the-leader stationkeeper system |
US4674710A (en) * | 1985-10-17 | 1987-06-23 | The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Air Force | Automatic formation turns |
US4997144A (en) * | 1988-08-02 | 1991-03-05 | Hollandse Signaalapparaten B.V. | Course-correction system for course-correctable objects |
US5728965A (en) * | 1995-04-13 | 1998-03-17 | Thomson-Csf | Method and device for the scattering of drones on curved paths around one or more reference points |
US20030016159A1 (en) * | 2001-07-20 | 2003-01-23 | Stayton Greg T. | Formation surveillance and collision avoidance |
US6587757B2 (en) * | 2000-10-27 | 2003-07-01 | Thales | Method for guiding an aircraft during a convoy flight |
US20050004759A1 (en) * | 2003-05-28 | 2005-01-06 | Siegel Neil Gilbert | Target acquisition and tracking system |
-
2004
- 2004-12-13 US US11/011,001 patent/US7299130B2/en active Active
- 2004-12-13 WO PCT/US2004/041583 patent/WO2005123502A2/en active Application Filing
Patent Citations (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3573818A (en) * | 1968-08-15 | 1971-04-06 | Sierra Research Corp | Follow-the-leader stationkeeper system |
US4674710A (en) * | 1985-10-17 | 1987-06-23 | The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Air Force | Automatic formation turns |
US4997144A (en) * | 1988-08-02 | 1991-03-05 | Hollandse Signaalapparaten B.V. | Course-correction system for course-correctable objects |
US5728965A (en) * | 1995-04-13 | 1998-03-17 | Thomson-Csf | Method and device for the scattering of drones on curved paths around one or more reference points |
US6587757B2 (en) * | 2000-10-27 | 2003-07-01 | Thales | Method for guiding an aircraft during a convoy flight |
US20030016159A1 (en) * | 2001-07-20 | 2003-01-23 | Stayton Greg T. | Formation surveillance and collision avoidance |
US20050004759A1 (en) * | 2003-05-28 | 2005-01-06 | Siegel Neil Gilbert | Target acquisition and tracking system |
Cited By (157)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US8086351B2 (en) * | 2004-02-06 | 2011-12-27 | Icosystem Corporation | Methods and systems for area search using a plurality of unmanned vehicles |
US7397345B2 (en) * | 2004-10-26 | 2008-07-08 | Swisscom Mobile Ag | Method and vehicle for sending electronic advertisements |
US20060116070A1 (en) * | 2004-10-26 | 2006-06-01 | Swisscom Mobile Ag | Method and vehicle for sending electronic advertisements |
US20100001902A1 (en) * | 2005-01-21 | 2010-01-07 | The Boeing Company | Situation awareness display |
US20060167622A1 (en) * | 2005-01-24 | 2006-07-27 | Bodin William K | Navigating UAVs in formations |
US20060167597A1 (en) * | 2005-01-24 | 2006-07-27 | Bodin William K | Enabling services on a UAV |
US7509212B2 (en) * | 2005-01-24 | 2009-03-24 | International Business Machines Corporation | Enabling services on a UAV |
US20060184292A1 (en) * | 2005-02-16 | 2006-08-17 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | Mission planning system for vehicles with varying levels of autonomy |
US20070131822A1 (en) * | 2005-06-20 | 2007-06-14 | Kevin Leigh Taylor Stallard | Aerial and ground robotic system |
US20090251354A1 (en) * | 2006-09-07 | 2009-10-08 | Dov Zahavi | Method and system for extending operational electronic range of a vehicle |
US8115665B2 (en) * | 2006-09-07 | 2012-02-14 | Elbit Systems Ltd. | Method and system for extending operational electronic range of a vehicle |
US7737878B2 (en) * | 2007-07-09 | 2010-06-15 | Eads Deutschland Gmbh | Collision and conflict avoidance system for autonomous unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) |
US20090027253A1 (en) * | 2007-07-09 | 2009-01-29 | Eads Deutschland Gmbh | Collision and conflict avoidance system for autonomous unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) |
US20090319112A1 (en) * | 2007-09-28 | 2009-12-24 | Honeywell International Inc. | Automatic planning and regulation of the speed of autonomous vehicles |
US7979174B2 (en) | 2007-09-28 | 2011-07-12 | Honeywell International Inc. | Automatic planning and regulation of the speed of autonomous vehicles |
US20090088916A1 (en) * | 2007-09-28 | 2009-04-02 | Honeywell International Inc. | Method and system for automatic path planning and obstacle/collision avoidance of autonomous vehicles |
US20100042269A1 (en) * | 2007-12-14 | 2010-02-18 | Kokkeby Kristen L | System and methods relating to autonomous tracking and surveillance |
US9026272B2 (en) * | 2007-12-14 | 2015-05-05 | The Boeing Company | Methods for autonomous tracking and surveillance |
EP2131443A1 (en) | 2008-06-03 | 2009-12-09 | Honeywell International Inc. | Steerable directional antenna system for autonomous air vehicle communication |
US20090295635A1 (en) * | 2008-06-03 | 2009-12-03 | Honeywell International Inc. | Steerable directional antenna system for autonomous air vehicle communication |
US7764229B2 (en) | 2008-06-03 | 2010-07-27 | Honeywell International Inc. | Steerable directional antenna system for autonomous air vehicle communication |
US8121749B1 (en) | 2008-09-25 | 2012-02-21 | Honeywell International Inc. | System for integrating dynamically observed and static information for route planning in a graph based planner |
US8930058B1 (en) * | 2008-10-20 | 2015-01-06 | The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Navy | System and method for controlling a vehicle traveling along a path |
US10331952B2 (en) | 2008-12-19 | 2019-06-25 | Landing Technologies, Inc. | System and method for determining an orientation and position of an object |
US11501526B2 (en) | 2008-12-19 | 2022-11-15 | Landing Technologies, Inc. | System and method for autonomous vehicle control |
US9710710B2 (en) | 2008-12-19 | 2017-07-18 | Xollai Inc. | System and method for autonomous vehicle control |
US20130079954A1 (en) * | 2008-12-19 | 2013-03-28 | Reconrobotics, Inc. | System and method for autonomous vehicle control |
US10430653B2 (en) | 2008-12-19 | 2019-10-01 | Landing Technologies, Inc. | System and method for autonomous vehicle control |
US20200256644A1 (en) * | 2009-02-02 | 2020-08-13 | Aerovironment, Inc. | Multimode unmanned aerial vehicle |
US20230104051A1 (en) * | 2009-02-02 | 2023-04-06 | Aerovironment, Inc. | Multimode unmanned aerial vehicle |
US11555672B2 (en) * | 2009-02-02 | 2023-01-17 | Aerovironment, Inc. | Multimode unmanned aerial vehicle |
US20110046837A1 (en) * | 2009-08-19 | 2011-02-24 | Deepak Khosla | System and method for resource allocation and management |
US8634982B2 (en) | 2009-08-19 | 2014-01-21 | Raytheon Company | System and method for resource allocation and management |
US11319087B2 (en) | 2009-09-09 | 2022-05-03 | Aerovironment, Inc. | Systems and devices for remotely operated unmanned aerial vehicle report-suppressing launcher with portable RF transparent launch tube |
US11040766B2 (en) | 2009-09-09 | 2021-06-22 | Aerovironment, Inc. | Elevon control system |
US11577818B2 (en) | 2009-09-09 | 2023-02-14 | Aerovironment, Inc. | Elevon control system |
US10960968B2 (en) | 2009-09-09 | 2021-03-30 | Aerovironment, Inc. | Elevon control system |
US11667373B2 (en) | 2009-09-09 | 2023-06-06 | Aerovironment, Inc. | Elevon control system |
US10953976B2 (en) | 2009-09-09 | 2021-03-23 | Aerovironment, Inc. | Air vehicle system having deployable airfoils and rudder |
US20230264805A1 (en) * | 2009-09-09 | 2023-08-24 | Aerovironment, Inc. | Elevon control system |
US11731784B2 (en) | 2009-09-09 | 2023-08-22 | Aerovironment, Inc. | Systems and devices for remotely operated unmanned aerial vehicle report-suppressing launcher with portable RF transparent launch tube |
US8836848B2 (en) | 2010-01-26 | 2014-09-16 | Southwest Research Institute | Vision system |
US20110181767A1 (en) * | 2010-01-26 | 2011-07-28 | Southwest Research Institute | Vision System |
US8942964B2 (en) * | 2010-06-08 | 2015-01-27 | Southwest Research Institute | Optical state estimation and simulation environment for unmanned aerial vehicles |
US20110301925A1 (en) * | 2010-06-08 | 2011-12-08 | Southwest Research Institute | Optical State Estimation And Simulation Environment For Unmanned Aerial Vehicles |
US8909389B2 (en) * | 2010-07-29 | 2014-12-09 | Deere & Company | Harvester with a sensor mounted on an aircraft |
US20120029732A1 (en) * | 2010-07-29 | 2012-02-02 | Axel Roland Meyer | Harvester with a sensor mounted on an aircraft |
US20140062758A1 (en) * | 2011-01-21 | 2014-03-06 | Farrokh Mohamadi | Intelligent detection of buried ieds |
US9322917B2 (en) * | 2011-01-21 | 2016-04-26 | Farrokh Mohamadi | Multi-stage detection of buried IEDs |
US8396730B2 (en) * | 2011-02-14 | 2013-03-12 | Raytheon Company | System and method for resource allocation and management |
US20120209652A1 (en) * | 2011-02-14 | 2012-08-16 | Deepak Khosla | System and method for resource allocation and management |
US8466406B2 (en) | 2011-05-12 | 2013-06-18 | Southwest Research Institute | Wide-angle laser signal sensor having a 360 degree field of view in a horizontal plane and a positive 90 degree field of view in a vertical plane |
US10234871B2 (en) | 2011-07-06 | 2019-03-19 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Distributed safety monitors for automated vehicles |
US10474166B2 (en) | 2011-07-06 | 2019-11-12 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | System and method for implementing pre-cognition braking and/or avoiding or mitigation risks among platooning vehicles |
US10514706B2 (en) | 2011-07-06 | 2019-12-24 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Gap measurement for vehicle convoying |
US10162366B2 (en) | 2011-07-06 | 2018-12-25 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Methods and systems for semi-autonomous vehicular convoys |
US20140303870A1 (en) * | 2011-07-06 | 2014-10-09 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Systems and methods for semi-autonomous vehicular convoys |
US10281927B2 (en) | 2011-07-06 | 2019-05-07 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Systems and methods for semi-autonomous vehicular convoys |
US9665102B2 (en) * | 2011-07-06 | 2017-05-30 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Systems and methods for semi-autonomous vehicular convoys |
US10216195B2 (en) | 2011-07-06 | 2019-02-26 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Applications for using mass estimations for vehicles |
US10481614B2 (en) | 2011-07-06 | 2019-11-19 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Vehicle platooning systems and methods |
US10042365B2 (en) | 2011-07-06 | 2018-08-07 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Methods and systems for semi-autonomous vehicular convoys |
US11360485B2 (en) | 2011-07-06 | 2022-06-14 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Gap measurement for vehicle convoying |
US10732645B2 (en) | 2011-07-06 | 2020-08-04 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Methods and systems for semi-autonomous vehicular convoys |
US10520952B1 (en) | 2011-07-06 | 2019-12-31 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Devices, systems, and methods for transmitting vehicle data |
US10520581B2 (en) | 2011-07-06 | 2019-12-31 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Sensor fusion for autonomous or partially autonomous vehicle control |
CN102880185A (en) * | 2011-07-13 | 2013-01-16 | 波音公司 | Solar energy collection flight path management system for aircraft |
US9596023B2 (en) * | 2011-09-16 | 2017-03-14 | Excelerate Technology Limited | Satellite communication centre |
US20140227967A1 (en) * | 2011-09-16 | 2014-08-14 | Excelerate Technology Limited | Satellite communication centre |
WO2014016240A1 (en) * | 2012-07-26 | 2014-01-30 | Geonumerics, S.L. | Method for the acquisition and processing of geographical information of a path |
US9477230B2 (en) | 2012-07-26 | 2016-10-25 | Geonumerics, S.L. | Method for the acquisition and processing of geographical information of a path |
US20140316614A1 (en) * | 2012-12-17 | 2014-10-23 | David L. Newman | Drone for collecting images and system for categorizing image data |
US11294396B2 (en) | 2013-03-15 | 2022-04-05 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | System and method for implementing pre-cognition braking and/or avoiding or mitigation risks among platooning vehicles |
US9676472B2 (en) * | 2013-08-30 | 2017-06-13 | Insitu, Inc. | Systems and methods for configurable user interfaces |
US20160159462A1 (en) * | 2013-08-30 | 2016-06-09 | Insitu, Inc. | Systems and methods for configurable user interfaces |
US10252788B2 (en) * | 2013-08-30 | 2019-04-09 | The Boeing Company | Systems and methods for configurable user interfaces |
US20150251756A1 (en) * | 2013-11-29 | 2015-09-10 | The Boeing Company | System and method for commanding a payload of an aircraft |
US10384779B2 (en) * | 2013-11-29 | 2019-08-20 | The Boeing Company | System and method for commanding a payload of an aircraft |
US10203691B2 (en) | 2013-12-06 | 2019-02-12 | Bae Systems Plc | Imaging method and apparatus |
US10051178B2 (en) * | 2013-12-06 | 2018-08-14 | Bae Systems Plc | Imaging method and appartus |
EP2881709A1 (en) * | 2013-12-06 | 2015-06-10 | BAE Systems PLC | Determining routes for aircraft |
US9454151B2 (en) * | 2014-05-20 | 2016-09-27 | Verizon Patent And Licensing Inc. | User interfaces for selecting unmanned aerial vehicles and mission plans for unmanned aerial vehicles |
US10800548B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2020-10-13 | SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. | Systems and methods for UAV docking |
US11407526B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2022-08-09 | SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. | Systems and methods for UAV docking |
EP2976687A4 (en) * | 2014-05-30 | 2016-05-18 | Sz Dji Technology Co Ltd | Systems and methods for uav docking |
US10059467B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2018-08-28 | Sz Dji Technology, Co., Ltd | Systems and methods for UAV docking |
US9457915B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2016-10-04 | SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd | Systems and methods for UAV docking |
US20160012730A1 (en) * | 2014-07-14 | 2016-01-14 | John A. Jarrell | Unmanned aerial vehicle communication, monitoring, and traffic management |
US9691285B2 (en) | 2014-07-14 | 2017-06-27 | John A. Jarrell | Unmanned aerial vehicle communication, monitoring, and traffic management |
US9466218B2 (en) * | 2014-07-14 | 2016-10-11 | John A. Jarrell | Unmanned aerial vehicle communication, monitoring, and traffic management |
US9087451B1 (en) * | 2014-07-14 | 2015-07-21 | John A. Jarrell | Unmanned aerial vehicle communication, monitoring, and traffic management |
US9576493B2 (en) | 2014-07-14 | 2017-02-21 | John A. Jarrell | Unmanned aerial vehicle communication, monitoring, and traffic management |
JP2016068764A (en) * | 2014-09-30 | 2016-05-09 | 富士重工業株式会社 | Method of controlling flight of aircraft and flight control system of the aircraft |
US20160173740A1 (en) * | 2014-12-12 | 2016-06-16 | Cox Automotive, Inc. | Systems and methods for automatic vehicle imaging |
US10963749B2 (en) * | 2014-12-12 | 2021-03-30 | Cox Automotive, Inc. | Systems and methods for automatic vehicle imaging |
US20160230851A1 (en) * | 2015-02-06 | 2016-08-11 | FLIR Belgium BVBA | Belt drive tensioning system |
US10156290B2 (en) * | 2015-02-06 | 2018-12-18 | FLIR Belgium BVBA | Belt drive tensioning system |
US20190107440A1 (en) * | 2015-05-12 | 2019-04-11 | BioSensing Systems, LLC | Apparatuses And Methods For Bio-Sensing Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles |
KR20160137442A (en) * | 2015-05-20 | 2016-11-30 | 주식회사 윌러스표준기술연구소 | A drone and a method for controlling thereof |
KR102527245B1 (en) | 2015-05-20 | 2023-05-02 | 주식회사 윌러스표준기술연구소 | A drone and a method for controlling thereof |
US10078338B2 (en) | 2015-08-26 | 2018-09-18 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Devices, systems, and methods for remote authorization of autonomous vehicle operation |
US10712748B2 (en) | 2015-08-26 | 2020-07-14 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Devices, systems, and methods for generating travel forecasts for vehicle pairing |
US11100211B2 (en) | 2015-08-26 | 2021-08-24 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Devices, systems, and methods for remote authorization of vehicle platooning |
US10364026B1 (en) * | 2015-09-21 | 2019-07-30 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Track and tether vehicle position estimation |
US10173772B2 (en) * | 2015-12-30 | 2019-01-08 | Namsung Co., Ltd. | Automatic flight control system and method for unmanned drone |
US10950118B2 (en) | 2016-04-19 | 2021-03-16 | Navio International, Inc. | Modular sensing systems and methods |
US11790760B2 (en) | 2016-04-19 | 2023-10-17 | Navio International, Inc. | Modular sensing systems and methods |
US10529221B2 (en) | 2016-04-19 | 2020-01-07 | Navio International, Inc. | Modular approach for smart and customizable security solutions and other applications for a smart city |
EP3247103A1 (en) * | 2016-05-20 | 2017-11-22 | Lg Electronics Inc. | Drone and method for controlling the same |
US10425576B2 (en) | 2016-05-20 | 2019-09-24 | Lg Electronics Inc. | Drone and method for controlling the same |
CN107402577A (en) * | 2016-05-20 | 2017-11-28 | Lg电子株式会社 | Unmanned plane and its control method |
US10254764B2 (en) | 2016-05-31 | 2019-04-09 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Platoon controller state machine |
US10838837B2 (en) * | 2016-06-24 | 2020-11-17 | International Business Machines Corporation | Sensor based system state prediction |
EP3273201B1 (en) | 2016-07-21 | 2021-06-30 | Arquus | Method of calculating an itinerary for an off-road vehicle |
US10170011B2 (en) * | 2016-07-26 | 2019-01-01 | International Business Machines Corporation | Guide drones for airplanes on the ground |
US10820574B2 (en) | 2016-07-29 | 2020-11-03 | International Business Machines Corporation | Specialized contextual drones for virtual fences |
US10343589B2 (en) | 2016-07-29 | 2019-07-09 | International Business Machines Corporation | Drone-enhanced vehicle external lights |
US10351044B2 (en) | 2016-07-29 | 2019-07-16 | International Business Machines Corporation | Drone-enhanced vehicle external lights |
US10391922B2 (en) | 2016-07-29 | 2019-08-27 | International Business Machines Corporation | Drone-enhanced vehicle external lights |
US20180037321A1 (en) * | 2016-08-05 | 2018-02-08 | Christopher Wilkinson | Law enforcement drone |
US20190182623A1 (en) * | 2016-08-10 | 2019-06-13 | SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. | System and method for managing movable object communications |
US10728707B2 (en) * | 2016-08-10 | 2020-07-28 | SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. | System and method for managing movable object communications |
US10906544B2 (en) | 2016-08-22 | 2021-02-02 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Dynamic gap control for automated driving |
US10369998B2 (en) | 2016-08-22 | 2019-08-06 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Dynamic gap control for automated driving |
US10921822B2 (en) | 2016-08-22 | 2021-02-16 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Automated vehicle control system architecture |
US10152064B2 (en) | 2016-08-22 | 2018-12-11 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Applications for using mass estimations for vehicles |
US11232655B2 (en) | 2016-09-13 | 2022-01-25 | Iocurrents, Inc. | System and method for interfacing with a vehicular controller area network |
US10650621B1 (en) | 2016-09-13 | 2020-05-12 | Iocurrents, Inc. | Interfacing with a vehicular controller area network |
US10955838B2 (en) * | 2016-09-26 | 2021-03-23 | Dji Technology, Inc. | System and method for movable object control |
US20180024547A1 (en) * | 2016-09-26 | 2018-01-25 | Dji Technology, Inc. | System and method for movable object control |
EP3388914A1 (en) * | 2017-04-14 | 2018-10-17 | Thales | Target tracking method performed by a drone, related computer program, electronic system and drone |
US10643346B2 (en) | 2017-04-14 | 2020-05-05 | Thales | Target tracking method performed by a drone, related computer program, electronic system and drone |
FR3065297A1 (en) * | 2017-04-14 | 2018-10-19 | Thales | TARGET TRACKING METHOD BY A DRONE, COMPUTER PROGRAM, ELECTRONIC SYSTEM AND RELATED DRONE |
US10133281B1 (en) * | 2017-05-05 | 2018-11-20 | Pinnacle Vista, LLC | Leading drone system |
US10317904B2 (en) * | 2017-05-05 | 2019-06-11 | Pinnacle Vista, LLC | Underwater leading drone system |
US10725479B2 (en) * | 2017-09-06 | 2020-07-28 | Autel Robotics Co., Ltd. | Aerial vehicle landing method, aerial vehicle, and computer readable storage medium |
US20190072983A1 (en) * | 2017-09-06 | 2019-03-07 | Autel Robotics Co., Ltd. | Aerial vehicle landing method, aerial vehicle, and computer readable storage medium |
US11009879B2 (en) | 2017-09-21 | 2021-05-18 | Loon Llc | Systems and methods for controlling an aerial vehicle using lateral propulsion and vertical movement |
US10558219B2 (en) | 2017-09-21 | 2020-02-11 | Loon Llc | Systems and methods for controlling an aerial vehicle using lateral propulsion and vertical movement |
WO2019060568A1 (en) * | 2017-09-21 | 2019-03-28 | X Development Llc | Systems and methods for controlling an aerial vehicle using lateral propulsion and vertical movement |
US11639216B2 (en) | 2017-12-21 | 2023-05-02 | Aerostar International, Llc | Propulsion system for a buoyant aerial vehicle |
US11554845B2 (en) | 2017-12-21 | 2023-01-17 | Aerostar International, Llc | Propulsion system for a buoyant aerial vehicle |
GB2570137A (en) * | 2018-01-12 | 2019-07-17 | Ford Global Tech Llc | A motor vehicle and method for a motor vehicle |
GB2570137B (en) * | 2018-01-12 | 2021-02-17 | Ford Global Tech Llc | A motor vehicle and method for a motor vehicle |
US20200409366A1 (en) * | 2018-03-05 | 2020-12-31 | Root3 Labs, Inc. | Remote deployed obscuration system |
US11341856B2 (en) | 2018-10-29 | 2022-05-24 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Systems and methods for managing communications between vehicles |
US10762791B2 (en) | 2018-10-29 | 2020-09-01 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Systems and methods for managing communications between vehicles |
US11367361B2 (en) * | 2019-02-22 | 2022-06-21 | Kyndryl, Inc. | Emulating unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) |
US11427196B2 (en) | 2019-04-15 | 2022-08-30 | Peloton Technology, Inc. | Systems and methods for managing tractor-trailers |
US11851154B2 (en) | 2019-07-17 | 2023-12-26 | Aerostar International, Llc | Lateral propulsion systems and architectures for high altitude balloons |
US11220320B2 (en) | 2019-07-17 | 2022-01-11 | Aerostar International, Inc. | Lateral propulsion systems and architectures for high altitude balloons |
US20220214702A1 (en) * | 2020-10-29 | 2022-07-07 | Luis M. Ortiz | Systems and methods enabling evasive uav movements during hover and flight |
CN112631145A (en) * | 2020-11-20 | 2021-04-09 | 福州大学 | Semi-physical simulation system for unmanned aerial vehicle vision combined navigation test |
US20220402630A1 (en) * | 2021-06-16 | 2022-12-22 | Beta Air, Llc | Methods and systems for wrapping simulated intra-aircraft communication to a physical controller area network |
US11939085B2 (en) * | 2021-06-16 | 2024-03-26 | Beta Air, Llc | Methods and systems for wrapping simulated intra-aircraft communication to a physical controller area network |
US20230069579A1 (en) * | 2021-08-23 | 2023-03-02 | Dish Wireless L.L.C. | Uav-supported mobile communications network |
US11902007B2 (en) * | 2021-08-23 | 2024-02-13 | Dish Wireless L.L.C. | UAV-supported mobile communications network |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
WO2005123502A2 (en) | 2005-12-29 |
WO2005123502A3 (en) | 2007-03-29 |
US7299130B2 (en) | 2007-11-20 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US7299130B2 (en) | Unmanned vehicle | |
CN109597427B (en) | Bomb random attack planning method and system based on unmanned aerial vehicle | |
Alghamdi et al. | Architecture, classification, and applications of contemporary unmanned aerial vehicles | |
CN107792402B (en) | A kind of carrier rocket grade recovery system and method | |
EP0789862A1 (en) | Learning autopilot | |
WO2022176734A1 (en) | Flight path model selection method, flying object tracking system, flying object handling system, and ground system | |
CN110979716A (en) | Ship-borne vertical take-off and landing detection and correction unmanned aerial vehicle attitude ship-aircraft cooperative guidance method | |
Grief | Darkstar and its Friends | |
Hirschberg | To boldly go where no unmanned aircraft has gone before: a half-century of DARPA's contributions to unmanned aircraft | |
Gardner et al. | Options for control and navigation of unmanned aircraft | |
Hobbs | Basics of missile guidance and space techniques | |
Shi et al. | Research on intercepting strategy of multiple kill vehicle in midcourse defense based on multi-sensors fusion method | |
WO2022176733A1 (en) | Flight location derivation method, flying body tracking system, terrestrial system, and flying body addressing system | |
Green et al. | Lethal unmanned air vehicle feasibility study | |
Rigby | Weapons integration | |
Montoya | Standard Missile: A Cornerstone of Navy Theater Air Missile Defense | |
Siouris | Weapon Delivery Systems | |
Dogen | A study of the effects of sensor noise and guidance laws on SAM effectiveness against cruise missiles | |
BRPI0904898A2 (en) | unmanned aerial vehicle multi-operating system / multi-purpose aerial monitoring platform | |
Womack et al. | Review of Past and Current Trials and Uses of Unmanned Vehicles | |
JOINT PUBLICATIONS RESEARCH SERVICE ARLINGTON VA | JPRS Report, Science & Technology, China, Tactical Missiles & Air Defense Systems | |
Krishana et al. | Unmanned Air Vehicle and Simulation. | |
Tietzel et al. | SUMMARY OF ARPA-ASO, TTO AERIAL PLATFORM PROGRAMS: VOLUME II, REMOTELY PILOTED HELICOPTERS | |
SURFACE-TO-AIR | MILITARY HANDBOOK | |
Dryden et al. | Guidance and Homing of Missiles and Pilotless Aircraft |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: ADVANCED CERAMIC RESEARCH, INC., ARIZONA Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:MULLIGAN, ANTHONY C.;TROUDT, CHRISTOPHER D.;DOUGLAS, JASON M.K.;REEL/FRAME:016021/0860;SIGNING DATES FROM 20050425 TO 20050426 |
|
STCF | Information on status: patent grant |
Free format text: PATENTED CASE |
|
FEPP | Fee payment procedure |
Free format text: PAT HOLDER NO LONGER CLAIMS SMALL ENTITY STATUS, ENTITY STATUS SET TO UNDISCOUNTED (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: STOL); ENTITY STATUS OF PATENT OWNER: LARGE ENTITY |
|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: BAE SYSTEMS UNMANNED AIRCRAFT PROGRAMS INC., ARIZO Free format text: CHANGE OF NAME;ASSIGNOR:ADVANCED CERAMICS RESEARCH, INC.;REEL/FRAME:025591/0545 Effective date: 20090608 |
|
FPAY | Fee payment |
Year of fee payment: 4 |
|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: SENSINTEL INC., ARIZONA Free format text: CHANGE OF NAME;ASSIGNOR:BAE SYSTEMS UNMANNED AIRCRAFT PROGRAMS INC.;REEL/FRAME:031793/0374 Effective date: 20130628 |
|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: ADVANCED CERAMICS RESEARCH LLC, ARIZONA Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:SENSINTEL INC.;REEL/FRAME:033747/0768 Effective date: 20140916 |
|
FPAY | Fee payment |
Year of fee payment: 8 |
|
SULP | Surcharge for late payment |
Year of fee payment: 7 |
|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: RAYTHEON COMPANY, MASSACHUSETTS Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:ADVANCED CERAMICS RESEARCH LLC;REEL/FRAME:036163/0558 Effective date: 20150519 |
|
MAFP | Maintenance fee payment |
Free format text: PAYMENT OF MAINTENANCE FEE, 12TH YEAR, LARGE ENTITY (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: M1553); ENTITY STATUS OF PATENT OWNER: LARGE ENTITY Year of fee payment: 12 |